ICE agent fatally shoots Colombian man during immigration raid in Maine
A 26-year-old Colombian man with a work permit was killed by an ICE agent in Biddeford, Maine during a Monday morning immigration operation. The man was not the target of the raid.
ICE agent fatally shoots Colombian man during immigration raid in Maine
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian national during an early-morning immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine on Monday, the BBC reports.
The deceased was not the intended target of the raid. According to ICE, agents were attempting to locate an individual with a final deportation order at a Biddeford address. When they tried to stop a vehicle leaving the location, the driver allegedly attempted to flee. One officer opened fire, claiming concern for public safety. The agency did not specify what made the situation dangerous.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey, a Democrat, stated that preliminary information indicates the driver tried to steer toward one of the agents before being shot dead. The involved ICE officer has been suspended pending investigation. The Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General has taken over the probe.
Senator Angus King was initially informed by Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that the deceased man had an outstanding arrest warrant. Hours later, that information was corrected — the victim was not the operation's target. King noted that the officers were not wearing body cameras, leaving investigators to determine whether the use of deadly force was justified.
Colombia's embassy has demanded information and an explanation from U.S. authorities. The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian man who held a work permit and lived in the area with his wife and daughter. Witnesses reported hearing at least four gunshots after ICE agents surrounded a white vehicle. One bystander described seeing the man's wife collapse beside his body while their young daughter stood nearby crying, carrying a pink backpack.
Protests erupted in Biddeford and outside the office of Republican Senator Susan Collins following the shooting.
This marks the second recent case in which ICE has used lethal force against an immigrant who was not the original target of an enforcement action. Last week, an ICE agent shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican construction worker, as he headed to a Houston job site. Federal authorities later acknowledged the man was not the operation's target, though they claimed he had tried to run over an agent.
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