ICE Shooting in Maine Draws Scrutiny Amid Broader Immigration Enforcement Push
A federal immigration officer fatally shot a motorist in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, marking the second deadly-force incident involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in a week. Immigrant rights groups identified the man as a 26-year-old Colombian national who was authorized to work in the United States.
Federal officials have released limited details. U.S. Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer fired after the man allegedly used his vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents. King said the agents were in Biddeford to serve an arrest warrant, but that the warrant was not for the man who was killed. Sen. Susan Collins said the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general is investigating alongside the FBI. Maine’s attorney general is also reviewing the shooting, and the agent involved has been placed on leave.
Witnesses described hearing several shots and seeing the man wounded in his vehicle. One resident said he heard the man say he “tried to stop.” Another said the man lived nearby with his wife and daughter. The Colombian Embassy said it is working with U.S. authorities to confirm the man’s identity and nationality.
Security footage from a nearby laundromat reportedly captured parts of the aftermath, including the car moving through the intersection after shots were fired. King said the agents involved were not wearing body cameras, leaving investigators to rely on witness accounts, physical evidence and other video.
The shooting prompted protests in Biddeford, with demonstrators criticizing ICE’s presence and the Trump administration’s expanded immigration enforcement efforts. Advocacy groups called for transparency and accountability.
The incident comes amid a broader increase in ICE activity. Recent data show hundreds of arrests in Maine during the current administration, with a lower share involving people with criminal backgrounds than during the comparable period before Trump returned to office.