Protests erupt in Maine after ICE fatally shoots Colombian man
Hundreds rallied in Portland and Biddeford after ICE fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, the agency's second deadly-force case in a week.
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, during an enforcement operation on July 13. Protests erupted in Biddeford and Portland after the killing, while Maine authorities opened a fatal-force investigation and Guerrero was not the intended target of the warrant being executed.
Maine's Office of the Attorney General is leading the inquiry, with the Biddeford Police Department, the Saco Police Department and Maine State Police assisting. An officer with ICE Enforcement Removal Operations was carrying out an operation tied to a final order of removal when the subject tried to flee in a vehicle toward the officer and was shot. The officer who fired the fatal shots has not been publicly named and has been placed on leave.
Guerrero was identified as a Colombian man living in Maine. He was a father and was authorized to work in the United States. His death set off vigils and rallies in Biddeford and Portland on July 13 and July 14, with hundreds gathering to demand justice and more information about the shooting.
The Department of Homeland Security launched Operation Catch of the Day on January 21, 2026. The Maine shooting is the second fatal-force incident involving ICE in a week, following the July 7 shooting of 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas. He was not the intended target of the operation.
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