THE border patrol agent shot dead while executing a traffic stop has been pictured.
David Maland. 44, was killed in the line of duty in Vermont on Monday – just hours after Donald Trump had been sworn into office.
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The shooting happened in Coventry – around 20 miles from the Canadian border.
Speculation swirled that Maland was killed by an illegal immigrant but this was not confirmed by the FBI.
Agents have revealed that a German national on an American visa also died in the gunfire.
A third person is being treated in hospital after being taken into custody.
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The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the FBI is leading the probe.
Trump has signed a flurry of executive orders since coming into office and some relate to immigration.
The border was a core issue of Trump’s 2024 election winning campaign.
He has declared a national emergency at the southern border.
Trump shut down the CBP One app, a tool that allowed around one million illegal immigrants to enter the US for work.
Migrants could apply via a lottery and could enter the US through ports of entry if they were selected.
But the app went dark moments after Trump was sworn in.
“All illegal entry will immediately be halted, and we will begin the process of returning millions and millions of criminal aliens back to the places in which they came,” Trump told the nation in his inaugural address.
But in light of the shooting, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan has warned the US-Canada crossing will not be ignored, as reported by Fox News.
He said the shooting was a sign more focus was needed.
All illegal entry will immediately be halted
Donald Trump
He claimed crossings in the area where Maland was killed have increased by 600%.
Homan claimed some illegal migrants view Canada as a “staging ground” before entering the US.
He explained that they believe it’s easier to sneak into the US via Canada, than it is from Mexico.
“The Northern border is not going to be underlooked by the Trump administration,” he said.
“We realize we’re understaffed, we realize the numbers are up 600% so we’re going to address that along with the southern border.”
Trump has also promised to launch a massive deportation operation.
And, Immigration and Customs Enforcement teams have already started their operations, according to Homan.
Homan has vowed ICE will enforce the law.
“What I’m telling you is, when we go find our priority target, which is a criminal alien, if he’s with others in the United States illegally, we’re going to take enforcement action against him,” he told CNN.
“We’re going to force immigration law.”
Homan dismissed suggestions that the ICE operations should be called “raids.”
He claimed agents know the people they are looking for and stressed their missions are targeted.
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As part of the flurry of orders, Trump labeled drug cartels as terrorists.
This sparked fears he could use the US military to complete operations in Mexico.
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Five key takeaways from Trump’s inauguration speech
- Trump pledged “the golden age of America begins right now” and that the US was entering the “start of a thrilling new era”
- Cartels are set to be officially declared as terrorists which will give him more power to crush violent Mexican drug smuggling gangs
- Trump attacked America’s previous leadership saying it had left the country in such a state that it couldn’t solve problems as he vowed to solve “crisis”
- Declared the US will put a man on Mars
- Vowed to create a “common sense revolution” and row back green policies and remake the education system to promote patriotism
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