Maine protests after ICE shooting kills Colombian immigrant in Biddeford
Joan Sebastian Guerrero was not ICE’s target, the agency said, as vigils and protests spread from Biddeford to Portland.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
A bloodstained corner in Biddeford, Maine, has become a protest site after Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian immigrant who lived on the block, was fatally shot Monday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
The shooting happened at Pool Street and Hill Street, where mourners placed flowers, candles and rosaries, according to Rolling Stone. Nearby signs read “ICE Out,” “Maine grieves” and “A man was lynched here yesterday.” Demonstrators also gathered outside an ICE field office in Scarborough on Tuesday, according to an AFP photo caption.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that the officer who shot Guerrero fired for “public safety.” ICE confirmed Guerrero was not the person agents had set out to stop.
Guerrero’s father, Omar Duran, told Noticias Caracol that his son was in the United States legally. Duran said in Spanish, “He had a great vision for getting ahead, so many dreams to fulfill,” and added, “My son is a wonderful son, I don’t know why they did that to him.” Guerrero is survived by his wife and 3-year-old daughter.
The New York Times reported that Guerrero worked as a food delivery driver and cleaned a veterinary clinic late at night. The Times also reported that the shooting was the fifth vehicle-related killing by ICE agents in the past year and the second in one week.
Lawmakers demand answers
Maine’s four members of Congress asked the Department of Homeland Security to investigate the shooting. Independent Sen. Angus King, Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and Democratic Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden wrote that the case required “a thorough, objective accounting,” according to the letter cited by The New York Times.
The lawmakers said the incident had caused “understandable anxiety” in Biddeford and urged DHS to make the investigation a priority.
Collins also called Tuesday for ICE to halt “non-urgent vehicle stops,” according to Maine Public. The Trump administration agreed, but President Donald Trump appeared to reverse course Wednesday, writing on social media that “THE TRAFFIC STOP” was one of ICE’s “most important and effective Crime Fighting tools.”
Protests turn toward ICE funding
In Portland, about 100 people gathered in Monument Square to protest Guerrero’s killing, Rolling Stone reported. Activist Cecil Carey of the Party for Socialism and Liberation led a chant aimed at Collins: “ICE pulled the trigger,” with the crowd responding, “Collins gave the gun.”
Collins voted June 5 for the Secure America Act, according to Senate records. The American Immigration Council says the bill gives ICE and Customs and Border Protection $69.5 billion through 2029, with ICE funding aimed at hiring officers and carrying out enforcement operations including deportations.
Maine Senate candidate Nirav Shah said in a statement that there was “a straight line from Senator Collins to the lawlessness we saw yesterday,” and argued that Collins would not hold ICE accountable because, in his words, she is “bankrolling it.”
At the Biddeford protest, Mary MacLeod, a Buxton resident who works in marketing and said she is not tied to activist groups, told Rolling Stone she brought a bullhorn because she felt the moment demanded it. She said the country was becoming used to cruelty and called Guerrero “the young man who was murdered yesterday.”
Another woman at the memorial, who said relatives knew Guerrero, told Rolling Stone he “worked really hard” and said the ICE presence had made it “scary being brown here.”
This story draws on original reporting from Rolling Stone.