Border czar Tom Homan confirmed Sunday that ICE's vetting process is under internal review after the officer who fatally shot a Colombian national in Maine had a documented history of abuse allegations that should have disqualified him — and the same federal background apparatus that let this man carry a badge is the one that routinely lets criminals disappear into the country.
The officer, identified by news outlets as Army veteran David Brouillette, shot and killed 25-year-old Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during a traffic stop in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. Two of Brouillette's ex-wives have since come forward with abuse allegations. One of them, Lucinda Brouillette, described a "persistent pattern of abuse, intimidation, manipulation, fear and control." A judge had ordered Brouillette to forfeit his firearms. Another ex-wife, Ashley Brouillette, told NPR that after the shooting, Brouillette asked her to vouch for his character and not discuss the abuse in their marriage. She refused.
Homan didn't mince words on CNN. "If those are facts, I don't think he should ever have cleared vetting," he said. "How did the vetting process fail? Was that information not available? Did they not know?"
Good questions. But they're questions the press only bothers asking when the failure points in one direction. The Guardian and the AP both framed this as an indictment of Trump's mass deportation push — The Guardian calling it "renewed scrutiny of ICE's hiring practices" and noting Democrats like Bennie Thompson are now demanding reviews. What none of these outlets mention: the same vetting system that missed Brouillette's history is the one that processes millions of arrivals, issues work permits, and clears people through background checks at a pace that makes real screening impossible. When that system lets a criminal slip through on the intake side, it's a footnote. When it fails on the enforcement side, it's a scandal.
Here's what the establishment press also buried: Guerrero was legally permitted to live and work in the United States, according to Breitbart, and was not the subject of the removal warrant ICE was executing when the stop happened. DHS said the officer fired while "fearing for public safety." Security footage obtained by Newsweek showed Guerrero's vehicle moving through the intersection after five shots were fired, after which officers pulled him from the vehicle, handcuffed him, and provided medical aid.
No body camera captured the encounter — nor did cameras capture a separate fatal shooting in Texas earlier in July, where ICE officers killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo. In that case, The Guardian reported that lab results for a white substance found in the van tested negative for narcotics, despite an FBI warrant application claiming it was consistent with methamphetamine. His family said the substance was a salt mixture used by his construction crew.
Homan announced that acting ICE director David Venturella has now ordered at least one body camera on every vehicle stop. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin had paused vehicle stops after the Maine shooting; Trump reversed that order almost immediately.
Lawmakers were told in a closed-door briefing that ICE has logged 56 excessive-force complaints since the crackdown began — 32 cleared, one referred for discipline, the rest still pending. No discipline has been handed down.
At least 10 people have died in encounters with immigration officers under this campaign. The administration has not met its stated goal of 1 million deportations per year.
The vetting system is broken. That much is clear. The question is whether anyone in Washington wants to fix it — or just weaponize the failures when the politics suit them.
