ICE agents shot an undocumented man during a traffic stop outside Baltimore on Wednesday after authorities said he attempted to ram officers with his van, leaving another passenger injured.
The incident occurred in Glen Burnie, Maryland, during what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted immigration enforcement operation. According to DHS, officers attempted to stop a van carrying two undocumented migrants when the driver refused to comply and tried to flee.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said officers asked the driver to turn off the engine, but he instead attempted to leave the scene, striking ICE vehicles and then driving directly toward officers. Agents opened fire after concluding the driver was trying to run them over, she said.
The driver was shot, and the passenger was injured during the subsequent crash. Both men were taken to a hospital and are in stable condition, DHS said. No ICE agents were injured.
The driver was identified as Tiago Alexandre Sousa-Martins, a Portuguese national who entered the United States in December 2008 and overstayed his visa after it expired in February 2009. The passenger was identified as Solomon Antonio Serrano-Esquivel, an undocumented migrant from El Salvador. DHS did not release further details about Serrano-Esquivel’s immigration history.
McLaughlin said Sousa-Martins lost control of the van after being shot and crashed during the incident. While DHS stated the vehicle came to rest between two buildings, images released by the agency show a white van crashed into a tree. DHS has been asked to clarify the discrepancy.
Officers provided medical assistance at the scene before transporting both men to the hospital, DHS said. It remains unclear whether either man has obtained legal representation. Local law enforcement has been contacted to determine whether they responded to the incident.
The shooting is the second case made public this week in which ICE agents fired their weapons during an encounter with an undocumented person who authorities say attempted to harm officers. In the other incident, no one was struck by gunfire.
The episode comes amid a broader rise in confrontations involving vehicles during immigration enforcement operations. DHS officials have said incidents involving ramming, blocking, or forcing law enforcement vehicles off the road have increased over the past year.
At the same time, immigration agencies have faced criticism over their own use of vehicle intervention tactics, including precision immobilization maneuvers, which experts have described as a form of deadly force.
Recent shootings involving federal immigration agents, including cases in Illinois and elsewhere, have drawn scrutiny from courts and public criticism, particularly where investigations and official accounts have been challenged.
