Tom Homan, the Trump administration's 'border czar,' stated on Sunday that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer involved in a fatal shooting in Maine should not have passed the agency's vetting process. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Homan responded to reports that two of the officer's ex-wives had accused him of abuse.
Homan Questions Vetting Process
When asked by host Dana Bash whether someone with such allegations should serve as an ICE agent, Homan replied: 'No, if those are facts, I don't think he should ever have cleared vetting.' He emphasized that an ongoing investigation is examining how the vetting process failed, questioning whether the abuse allegations were available to investigators.
The officer, identified by news outlets as David Brouillette, was involved in the shooting death of Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly confirmed Brouillette's identity.
Allegations of Abuse
Two of Brouillette's ex-wives have come forward with allegations. Lucinda Brouillette described a 'persistent pattern of abuse, intimidation, manipulation, fear and control' during their relationship. She stated, 'If you were to ask me whether I believe David Brouillette is capable of this level of violence, my answer is unequivocally yes.'
Homan declined to comment directly on the case, calling it 'a rare instance,' but added: 'If this person had that type of history, it would have been a vetting issue, and it should have been brought to the attention of those who make those decisions.'
Scrutiny of ICE Hiring Practices
The shooting has renewed scrutiny of ICE's hiring practices. Democrats have called for reviews of the agency's vetting process. Mississippi Congressman Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, stated that Brouillette's alleged abusive past 'directly call[s] into question the supposed vetting and training ICE does of its recruits.'
Neither the Maine shooting nor a separate incident involving an ICE officer in Texas earlier in July produced body camera footage. In response, Homan announced that the agency would require officers to wear body cameras during vehicle stops.
Texas Incident Details
In the Texas case, which resulted in the death of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare reported that lab tests of a white substance found in a van tested negative for narcotics. The FBI had previously claimed the substance was consistent with methamphetamine in a search warrant application. Salgado's family said the substance was a salt mixture used as electrolytes by his construction crew.
