President Donald Trump is directing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to resume conducting traffic stops, rejecting a recent Department of Homeland Security decision to suspend the tactic following two fatal shootings involving ICE agents in Maine and Texas.

In a post on Truth Social Wednesday, Trump defended the use of traffic stops as a critical law enforcement strategy.

“We CANNOT give up one of I.C.E.’s most important and effective Crime Fighting tools, THE TRAFFIC STOP!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Once we do, we are playing right into the criminal’s hands.”

Trump’s remarks came a day after DHS reportedly instructed ICE personnel across the country to temporarily stop carrying out routine vehicle stops. The directive, according to reports, eliminated most traffic stops except in limited situations, including operations involving criminal warrants or coordinated actions with other law enforcement agencies.

The policy change followed two deadly encounters involving ICE officers. On Monday in Biddeford, Maine, agents attempting to stop a vehicle fatally shot 25-year-old Colombian national Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who was married and the father of a 3-year-old daughter.

An ICE spokesperson said an officer discharged his weapon while “fearing for public safety.” The shooting remains under investigation by the FBI and local authorities, while DHS’ Office of Inspector General has also been notified.

Independent Maine Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin informed him that the man who died was not the individual ICE agents had initially intended to apprehend.

The Maine incident came just days after another fatal ICE shooting during a vehicle stop in Houston. Acting ICE Director David Venturella said the victim, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national who had lived in the United States for decades, was likewise not the person agents had been attempting to locate.

According to DHS, officers believed Salgado Araujo matched the description of the suspect they were seeking. The department said an ICE officer fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo allegedly rammed an agency vehicle.

Both deadly encounters occurred as the Trump administration has stepped up immigration enforcement nationwide, sparking anti-ICE demonstrations in both Maine and Texas.

The Associated Press reported that the ICE agents involved in the Houston shooting were not equipped with body cameras. DHS has said those officers are expected to receive body-worn cameras within the next 60 days.

Trump also used his Truth Social post to again criticize the immigration policies of President Joe Biden.

“The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done. CRIME IS WAY DOWN IN AMERICA, in many cases with numbers that haven’t been seen in decades,” he said.

“The Open Border Policy of Sleepy Joe Biden allowed 25,000,000 people to pour into our Country, unchecked and unvetted,” Trump continued. “Many were Criminals, and we have to get them out. In order to do this, we must be strong, tough, and smart.”

Concluding his message, Trump encouraged ICE officers to return to conducting enforcement operations while exercising sound judgment.

“I.C.E., be judicious, fair and smart, and go back and do your very important job,” Trump wrote. “Keep those Crime Stat Records coming! Remember, you are loved and respected in America.”