Democrats demand answers after ICE shooting in Maine raises vetting concerns

Democratic lawmakers are pressing Homeland Security for answers after an ICE officer fatally shot 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, during a vehicle stop on July 13. The officer had a history of mental and physical health problems and a history of violent behavior described by family members and records.

Homeland Security said the officer opened fire after “fearing for public safety” and after Durán Guerrero allegedly tried to flee in a vehicle. The department also said Durán Guerrero was not the target of the enforcement operation. The shooting set off protests in Maine, where community members and elected officials demanded transparency about how the stop was handled and whether the use of force was justified.

Maine’s two senators, Angus King and Susan Collins, both called for an impartial investigation. Collins said she spoke with Markwayne Mullin and urged him to cease non-urgent ICE vehicle pursuits, while King said the man killed was not the target of the immigration operation. Their demands came as ICE has been rapidly expanding its workforce, hiring thousands of new officers under the Trump administration’s push to increase immigration arrests and deportations.

That expansion has been fueled by billions of dollars in congressional funding, putting new focus on whether Homeland Security and ICE are vetting officers carefully enough before sending them into the field. Lawmakers now want to know whether the agency’s hiring pipeline, background checks and training systems failed to catch warning signs before an armed officer was deployed on the street.

ICE told officers nationwide to stop pursuing people in vehicles, and Homeland Security pledged to “rapidly” deploy body cameras to officers nationally after the Maine and Texas shootings.