Fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, involved ICE, state House speaker says
BIDDEFORD, Maine (AP) — ICE was involved in the fatal shooting of someone in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, though details of what transpired remain scarce, the speaker of the Maine House said in a social media post.
House Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, wrote on Facebook that the shooting occurred Monday morning in Biddeford, a coastal city of about 23,000 people roughly 15 miles (24 kilometers) southwest of Portland.
“This morning a shooting occurred in Biddeford. A person was killed. ICE was involved,” Fecteau wrote, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “State Police and the Department of Public Safety are now on scene to gather details and would expect the FBI to investigate as well.”
Fecteau said those were the only details he knew and that he would provide updates later Monday.
ICE, the FBI and the Maine Department of Public Safety didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
Project Relief, an immigrant rights advocacy group, wrote in a social media post that one of its community members was killed “during an encounter with ICE in Biddeford” and that it was in contact with the person’s family. The group described the person as “young,” but did not provide an age or other identifying details.
“This was a young person whose life was cut short,” the group said, calling for justice and support for the family and community.
Biddeford Saco for Racial Justice planned a noon protest against ICE at Mechanics Park in Biddeford. According to local news reports, protesters have already begun gathering in the city, which has a working-class downtown along the Saco River and an oceanfront area popular with vacationers.
If an ICE officer did fatally shoot someone, it would be at least the ninth death from an encounter with federal immigration officials since the start of the Trump administration's immigration crackdown and the second in a week, following the killing of a Houston man.
The reported shooting comes amid a newly intensified push by the Trump administration to carry out its mass deportations agenda. During the five-day period at the end of June, ICE arrested more than 10,000 people. The figures indicate that while the administration is no longer cracking down on individual cities, the arrests continue and are surging.
Democratic Rep. Chellie Pingree, of Maine, said in a video posted on social media that she was driving to Portland to catch a flight to Washington when she learned of the reported shooting. She said she was seeking answers about the circumstances surrounding the shooting, including whether officers were wearing body cameras, adding, “More than anything else, I want to know, ‘Why are you in Maine?’”
ICE had a significant presence in Maine earlier this year, which resulted in several large demonstrations against the agency.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, named the operation “Catch of the Day,” an apparent play on Maine’s seafood industry, just as it has done for other enforcement surges, like “Patriot” in Massachusetts, “Metro Surge” in Minnesota and “Midway Blitz” in Chicago.
Immigration officials said in late January that they had ceased “enhanced operations” in Maine after making hundreds of arrests. A Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that some Maine arrests were of people “convicted of horrific crimes including aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and endangering the welfare of a child.” But court records painted a slightly different story: While some had felony convictions, others were detainees with unresolved immigration proceedings or who were arrested but never convicted of a crime.
The Trump administration's immigration crackdowns received widespread condemnation last winter after the killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minnesota. Last week, an ICE officer fatally shot Salgado Araujo, 52, of Houston, after he was pursued by federal agents driving unmarked vehicles while he was taking his crew to their latest job site.
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