On Monday morning, July 14, 2026, a 26-year-old Colombian man named Joan Sebastian Guerrero was shot and killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Biddeford, Maine. Initial statements from Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey indicated that the man attempted to flee in a vehicle toward the officer and was fatally shot. The ICE officer involved, from the Enforcement Removal Operations department, has been placed on leave pending an investigation.

Fellow Maine Senator Angus King, initially informed by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) chief Markwayne Mullin that Guerrero was the target of an arrest warrant, later clarified that the man was not the subject of any warrant. Maine Governor Janet Mills described the death of a man not being sought by authorities as "even more disturbing and infuriating."

The Colombian Embassy in the United States expressed deep regret over Guerrero's death and has requested information and clarification from DHS regarding the circumstances. According to the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition, Guerrero was authorized to work in the US and had a social security number. He was married with a young child.

This incident follows another fatal shooting less than a week earlier in Houston, Texas, where ICE officers shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a vehicle stop. In response to these two shootings, federal immigration officials, including ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers, have been instructed to suspend vehicle stops nationwide until further notice. Sources indicate this pause will remain until officers receive new training on vehicle stop procedures.

The Department of Homeland Security stated it continually evaluates procedures to ensure officer safety and public security. The inspector general's office for DHS, which oversees ICE, is taking over the investigation into the Maine shooting.

The killings of Guerrero and Salgado have sparked public outcry, with communities, lawmakers, and civil liberties groups calling for independent investigations into immigration enforcement-related deaths.

Sources