(The Center Square) — A 26-year-old Colombian man is dead following an ICE-involved shooting in Maine’s sixth-largest city, authorities said.
The incident occurred early Monday in Biddeford, where U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation. The Department of Homeland Security has not released any details about what led to the fatal shooting. News about the shooting was released by state leaders and members of Maine’s congressional delegation.
Gov. Janet Mills issued a statement saying Maine State Police are “at the scene supporting and working cooperatively with the Attorney General’s Office, Maine’s Office of Chief Medical Examiner, and Federal officials to determine the facts of what occurred this morning.
“I know that situations like these are alarming and frightening,” Mills, a Democrat, said.
Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said his office is assisting with the investigation into the fatal shooting. The Democrat urged the public to remain calm while the investigation is conducted.
“We understand individuals may want to gather and make their voice(s) heard,” Frey said in a statement. “We ask that people remain peaceful, be respectful of others, and follow the directions of local law enforcement officers who will be maintaining public order.”
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said Monday that he had spoken with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the incident and has called for a full investigation.
“He was the target of an arrest warrant based upon his immigration status,” King told reporters at a briefing. “He had been given an order to leave the country. He was in a vehicle, pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponize the vehicle.’ He was shot by an ICE agent.”
The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition said the man was a 26-year-old Colombian national who had legal work status in the country. The advocacy group echoed calls for an investigation, calling the fatal shooting devastating, enraging, and unacceptable.”
“His loved ones deserve answers, and the public deserves a full and transparent account of what happened,” the groups said in a statement. “People across Maine have already endured escalating detentions, aggressive enforcement activity, and the fear of being taken from their homes, workplaces, and families. Today, that escalation has ended in the loss of a young life.”
Maine is one of several Democratic-led states that have been targeted for immigration enforcement. More than 200 “illegal aliens” were arrested in ICE’s “Catch of the Day” operation, which got underway in January, according to DHS. The agency said those detained included people previously arrested for assault, drug trafficking, rape and burglary, and other serious charges.
Republicans have blamed Mills and other Maine Democrats for encouraging the immigration crackdown by passing a ‘sanctuary’ law restricting cooperation with federal authorities.
But the Biddeford incident is the second ICE-involved fatal shooting in less than a week. Salgado Araujo, 52, died at a Houston hospital from his injuries last week after he was shot during a traffic stop by federal immigration officials. DHS officials later confirmed that the man was not the intended target of the operation
The shootings have reignited calls for accountability in the embattled federal agency, which drew widespread condemnation earlier this year following the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis.
