Rep. Pingree: ICE Target in Fatal Maine Shooting Wasn't Deportable
A Maine congresswoman says the actual target of the ICE operation that led to a fatal shooting last month had no final removal order, contradicting the agency's account.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, said during a hearing Monday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement's intended target in a fatal shooting last month in Biddeford was not the man killed but his roommate, who owned the car involved and was not subject to a final removal order.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, was shot and killed by an ICE agent near his Biddeford home on July 13. Pingree called the disclosure a "shocking revelation in clear contradiction to what ICE" and the Department of Homeland Security have said about the shooting.
She said it had previously been established that Durán Guerrero was not the intended target and that he did not have a final removal order, but did have a pending asylum case and a valid work permit.
"Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero should be alive today," Pingree said. "More than a month later, there are still so many basic questions that remain unanswered by ICE and the Trump administration."
The Department of Homeland Security said late Monday that it stands by its prior assessment of the shooting. A spokesperson said ICE was conducting "targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal," adding that the agency would not disclose "law enforcement sensitive intelligence and methods" and had never publicly named Durán Guerrero or his roommate as the target.
The shooting remains under investigation by the Maine attorney general's office. Pingree was among several Democratic House members who spoke at Monday's hearing in Biddeford about ICE's use of deadly force in the state.
Homeland Security has said Durán Guerrero tried to flee the scene and that the agent fired because he feared for public safety. Democratic lawmakers have also demanded answers about ICE's training and vetting after it emerged that the officer involved had a history of violent behavior and mental health issues. The shooting appeared to prompt ICE to briefly suspend most vehicle stops, a change President Trump quickly opposed.
This article was produced with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI), in accordance with our editorial policy.
