ICE agents kill Colombian man in Maine, the second federal immigration fatality in under a week

The shooting occurred around 7:20 a.m. local time at an intersection in Biddeford, a town of 21,000 in southern Maine. A resident who heard what sounded like fireworks looked out to see an SUV ram a white sedan. Shortly afterward, a man lay dead in the street, struck by an ICE agent. Security camera footage captured the sound of at least four gunshots, while another video showed emergency responders tending to a person on their back beside a white sedan and a law enforcement vehicle.

Victim identification and status

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and the organization Presente! identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian citizen. He was authorized to work in the United States and possessed a Social Security number. Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine, reported that Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the man had a final deportation order. King also noted that the agents involved were not wearing body cameras. Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau stated, "A person was killed. ICE is involved. State police and the Department of Public Safety are now on site to gather details and we also expect the FBI to investigate."

Official reactions

Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, said she had been briefed on the incident involving "federal law enforcement" and that state police were working with the attorney general's office, the medical examiner, and federal authorities. She stated that she understood such situations cause alarm and fear. Representative Chellie Pingree expressed that she was "disturbed and outraged" and called for an investigation, posting on social media, "Why are you in Maine?" directed at the immigration agents deployed by the Trump administration across various states.

I know situations like these cause alarm and fear.

Mills and Trump had previously clashed in February at the White House during a meeting with governors. The president threatened to cut federal funding to Maine over its refusal to bar transgender athletes from women's sports. Mills replied on camera, "See you in court." Trump told her to enjoy her time as governor because she would not remain in politics long. The Department of Education subsequently opened an investigation into the state of Maine for alleged violations.

Houston killing and witness accounts

On July 7, ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican construction worker who had lived in the United States for 30 years. He was driving a white van with colleagues to their final worksite in Houston. The Department of Homeland Security stated that an ICE agent fired in self-defense after Salgado Araujo, described by officials as an "illegal alien," rammed an ICE vehicle. But three witnesses, Jose Trinidad Rojas, Daniel Tirado Pantoja, and Victor Salgado, the victim's brother, called the authorities' account "simply false." They said no agent stood in front of the van and that ICE agents targeted the Mexican national after mistaking him for someone else. The three were arrested and transferred to an ICE detention center.

The authorities' reconstruction is simply false.

Broader pattern of fatalities

The Guardian counts at least 10 people killed by federal immigration agents since the start of Trump's second term. A report from Human Rights Watch and Physicians for Human Rights documented 52 deaths in ICE detention centers during the first 500 days of the administration. Earlier in January, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, two Americans in their early thirties, were killed by federal immigration agents during separate ICE operations in Minneapolis, part of an enforcement action called Metro Surge. Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum announced that Mexico's foreign ministry will file complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice and various state prosecutors' offices regarding the deaths of 17 Mexican citizens in ICE custody or operations.