US Senate minority leader demands investigations into fatal ICE shootings

US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded independent investigations Tuesday into two recent fatal shootings by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Schumer sharply criticized the agency following fatal shootings in the states of Texas and Maine that occurred less than a week apart, saying the fatalities raised serious questions about the agency's practices.

"How long will Republicans let Trump's secret police continue to sow chaos and violence in our American streets?" Schumer said from the Senate floor.

His remarks came one day after an ICE agent fatally shot a 26-year-old man during an enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, after the driver allegedly attempted to flee a vehicle stop.

The shooting was less than a week after another deadly ICE encounter in Texas, where authorities fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during an enforcement operation.

The New York Democrat alleged that the incidents appeared to involve ICE agents who were not wearing body cameras and that the individuals killed were not the subjects of warrants the agents were serving. He also said the agents involved in the Texas shooting were traveling in unmarked vehicles.

"There are still a lot of unanswered questions about these two shootings, but what little we do know is disturbing, to say the least," said Schumer.

Schumer argued that Democratic legislation requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras, display proper identification, comply with warrant requirements and adopt policing reforms could have prevented the shootings.

He urged the Trump administration to release all information related to the Texas and Maine shootings and have independent investigations conducted into the incidents.

"The American people need to know how and why this chaos is spreading through their streets," he said. "We need a complete investigation that's independent."