Trigger-Happy Agents: New Rules Keep Officers Off Streets

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers who fire their guns or use choke holds will now stay off the streets until an investigation is finished, a sharp change from the three-day return window that existed before.

Quick Take

ICE quietly changed its rules this month for officers involved in deadly-force incidents, two senior officials told The Atlantic.
Officers used to be able to return to regular duty in as few as three days after a shooting or choke hold.
Under the new rule, they stay on desk duty until investigators clear them, which can take much longer.
The change follows a string of fatal ICE and Border Patrol shootings across the country this year.
ICE has not publicly announced the policy shift, and the agency did not release a written directive.

What Changed Inside ICE

Two senior ICE officials with direct knowledge of the change told The Atlantic that the agency “quietly enacted new rules this month” covering deadly-force incidents. The rules apply to more than fatal shootings. They also cover choke holds and other uses of force that could kill or seriously hurt someone. Officers involved in these incidents must now stay on administrative duty until an internal investigation wraps up.

The Old Three-Day Window

Before this month, officers involved in deadly-force incidents could return to their regular jobs in as little as three days. That timeline lines up with older Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy, which called for officers to get three consecutive days of administrative leave after using deadly force that caused death or serious injury. Similar three-day leave rules applied at Customs and Border Protection, according to a Department of Homeland Security source.

A Pattern Across Federal Agencies

Putting officers on leave after a shooting is not new. The Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, and police departments nationwide use similar steps after serious force incidents, partly to protect officers and partly to protect the investigation itself. What sets ICE’s update apart is the length. Instead of a fixed few days, officers now wait out the entire investigation before returning to active duty.

Shootings That Preceded the Shift

The rule change comes after months of fatal encounters involving federal immigration agents. A Guardian count found at least 10 people fatally shot by immigration agents this year, part of what advocates call “new terrifying levels” of enforcement violence. High-profile cases include the Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti, after which two federal agents were placed on administrative leave while investigators reviewed body camera footage. In that case, ICE later said two officers may have lied under oath about the shooting.

Congress and the Public Response

Deadly incidents in Minneapolis, Chicago, Houston, and Biddeford, Maine, have drawn attention from lawmakers holding hearings on ICE’s use of force. House Democrats held field forums in several of these cities, questioning why some federal shootings get reviewed by local prosecutors while others do not. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) reportedly told agents it will no longer investigate ICE confrontations, shifting that responsibility elsewhere.

EXCLUSIVE: ICE has enacted a new rule keeping officers involved in deadly-force incidents off the streets until the completion of an investigation, @NickMiroff reports. Officers had previously been allowed to return to their job in as few as three days. https://t.co/RkDDEoFqx7 pic.twitter.com/bMIJzmpVmd

— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) August 25, 2026

No Public Directive Yet Released

ICE has not issued a public statement confirming the new rule or released a written policy document. The information comes from two senior officials speaking to The Atlantic, not from an official agency announcement. Homeland Security Investigations leadership, including Border Patrol’s Tom Homan, has previously said leave decisions during shooting investigations follow policy, though Homan told CNN he has not tracked every case personally.

Why the Timing Matters

The shift arrives as public trust in federal use-of-force accountability faces pressure from both sides of the political spectrum. Conservatives who back strong immigration enforcement and liberals who worry about civil rights abuses share a common demand: clear, consistent rules that apply the same way every time. A policy that changes quietly, without formal announcement, leaves both groups wondering what other adjustments happen out of public view.