ICE and the Senate react to the latest shootings: From the Politics Desk

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In today’s edition, our national security and politics teams dig into the policy and electoral fallout after ICE officers fatally shot two men in recent days. And our legal reporters watched as Supreme Court justices testified before Congress in a bid for more security funding.

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— Scott Bland

ICE tells officers to stop car pursuits amid uproar after shooting

ICE has issued a nationwide order to all officers to stop pursuing people in vehicles, according to a senior Department of Homeland Security official and two former senior DHS officials, NBC News’ Julia Ainsley, Laura Strickler, Suzanne Gamboa, Daniella Silva and Nicole Acevedo report. The move comes after ICE officers fatally shot two men in less than a week in Maine and Texas.

The pause is temporary, according to a senior DHS official with knowledge of the policy change. The official added that ICE is “evaluating the incidents to determine what additional training is needed to reduce the negative outcomes we are seeing.” There is no scheduled timeline for when the pause might lift.

The ICE officers in both cases were making vehicle stops when they ended up killing men who were not their original targets for arrest, local officials said. The two shootings took place after the administration upped the pressure on immigration agents to step up arrests, sources have told NBC News.

Meanwhile, as Democratic candidates for Senate in Maine rushed to condemn the shooting, Republican Sen. Susan Collins called for an investigation and said today that she has been in frequent touch with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Sahil Kapur and Frank Thorp V report.

“I had three conversations with Secretary Mullin yesterday. In the third conversation, we discussed the fact that it would be wise for DHS to have a halt in non-urgent traffic stops until we get this straightened out,” Collins told reporters. “We still are awaiting the facts of this investigation. We don’t know exactly what happened, but there are sufficient critical questions to justify bringing non-emergency traffic stops to a halt.”

Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said he is “extremely” disappointed that the agent involved was not wearing a body camera: “There’s no excuse for it.”

He said the pressure on ICE agents to meet a quota of arrests has, “of course,” contributed to shootings like the one in Maine. “There’s pressure to go after anybody that they can find that has any semblance of a reason for an arrest and detention,” he said.

Collins said she was not aware that ICE officers were facing pressure to carry out more arrests.

“I would be concerned if I knew that to be true,” she said. “But I have not heard that at all.”

Justice Barrett recounts swatting incident in testimony before Congress

By Lawrence Hurley and Gary Grumbach

Justice Amy Coney Barrett today recounted a recent ”swatting” incident at her home in testimony before Congress as the Supreme Court seeks additional funds to combat a rise in security threats.

Barrett, a member of the court’s conservative majority, is appearing alongside liberal Justice Elena Kagan at back-to-back hearings in the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services and General Government and the Senate’s version of that committee.

Supreme Court justices as well as judges throughout the federal judiciary have increasingly been the targets of threats, harassment and “swatting” incidents, in which false calls are made to police about violence at their home addresses.

In her remarks during the House hearing, Barrett confirmed details of the incident that took place in May at her home in Fairfax County, Virginia.

“One of my teenage sons opened the door to go out with friends and saw in our street, it was full of police cars who had responded to a false report of gunshots and raised voices in my home,” she said.

“I was very, very grateful that I had Supreme Court police outside my home because they were able to stop and meet with and explain to the county police that it had been a false alarm, and so the police did not actually attempt to enter our home,” she added.

The justices faced a receptive audience, with members of Congress also facing regular threats and harassment.

“Whatever one’s view of the specific Supreme Court ruling, judicial officers, up to and including the justices of the Supreme Court, must be able to do their jobs without fear for their safety or their family’s safety,” said Rep. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, who chairs the House subcommittee.

“Congress must provide sufficient funding to ensure the safety of all judicial personnel,” said Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., the senior Democrat on the subcommittee.

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That’s all From the Politics Desk for now. Today’s newsletter was compiled by Scott Bland and Annelise Hanson.

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