ICE Agent Shoots Driver in Maine: Second Fatal Incident in Six Days
An ICE agent shot and killed a driver in Biddeford, Maine, less than a week after a similar fatal shooting during a traffic stop in Texas.
ICE Agent Shoots Driver in Maine: Second Fatal Incident in Six Days
An agent of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) shot and killed a driver in the coastal city of Biddeford, Maine, on Monday morning, reports Večernji list. The shooting occurred just six days after another ICE agent fatally shot a 52-year-old Mexican national during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced nearly 12 hours after the incident that the agent opened fire "out of concern for public safety" when the man attempted to flee from agents who tried to stop his vehicle. The department did not explain how the driver could have posed a threat.
The incident happened around seven o'clock in the morning local time in Biddeford, approximately 24 kilometers south of Portland. According to the department, agents were conducting targeted surveillance at the last known address of an undocumented immigrant with a final deportation order. The undocumented individual allegedly left the residence in a vehicle, and ICE agents followed. The department did not confirm whether the person who left the residence was the same individual under surveillance.
Local police and the FBI responded to the scene. Immigration advocates stated that the deceased was a 26-year-old Colombian who held a U.S. work permit and possessed a social security number.
The immigrant rights organizations Coalition for Immigrant Rights and Presente! Maine described the incident as "devastating, disturbing and unacceptable."
This marks at least the seventh death during immigration enforcement efforts that began in January 2025, when President Donald Trump launched a campaign of mass deportations. The previous case occurred in Houston, where an ICE agent shot Lorenzo Salgado Arauja after he allegedly rammed an agent vehicle and attempted to strike an agent with his car. The agency provided no evidence for these claims, and in similar cases over the past year, initial agency statements about use of force were later contradicted by video footage or other evidence, according to Reuters.
Source: Večernji list