Biddeford shooting puts ICE crackdown at center of Senate race

Protesters entered Susan Collins’ Biddeford district office Monday chanting “ICE out now” and “vote her out!” after a federal immigration agent fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero just after 7 a.m. in downtown Biddeford.

The Maine Attorney General’s office said the shooting happened near Hill and Pool streets during an attempt by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to detain a man who attempted to flee in a vehicle “in the direction of the officer.” ICE did not confirm the shooting until Monday night, nearly 12 hours later, and the Department of Homeland Security had still not commented by then. Maine officials said Biddeford police were only providing scene security.

Immigrant-rights advocates and a neighbor identified Guerrero as a 26-year-old father from Colombia. Advocates said he was authorized to work in the United States and had a Social Security number. Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him Guerrero was not the intended target of the warrant, and that he had been given an order to leave the country. King also said there were apparently no body cameras on the agents, leaving no video evidence of what happened. He said he had spoken with Biddeford Mayor Alan LaFontaine and wanted state and local officials kept informed.

Collins issued a brief statement: the shooting required “a full and impartial investigation of what happened.” She had been told the case would be handled by the Boston office of the DHS Inspector General along with the FBI.

The Maine Democratic Party said the Biddeford shooting came less than a week after another fatal ICE shooting in Houston and that Mainers deserved a “full, transparent, and independent accounting.” The Biddeford killing was at least the ninth time since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown that ICE agents have used deadly force, according to an Associated Press count.

The episode landed in the middle of Maine’s 2026 Senate race, after Democrat Graham Platner exited the contest and as Collins’ opponents were already pressing her on immigration enforcement. Troy Jackson and Jordan Wood have called for ICE to be abolished, while Shenna Bellows and Nirav Shah have sharply criticized the agency’s conduct. Demonstrators later held a vigil in Portland.