Lawmakers demand answers after ‘bombshell’ report of ICE officer shooting in Maine
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic members of Congress demanded answers on: of Homeland Security Review and training of immigration enforcement officials after it was announced Thursday. ICE officer involved in deadly shooting This week, Maine had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior.
Associated Press David Brouillette reports. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since childhood, according to testimony from several close relatives.
The AP has reached out to congressional leaders and key lawmakers from both parties for a response.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said Brouillette’s history of violence and mental health issues, as well as his death in Maine, “call into direct question the so-called vetting and training ICE does of recruits.”
“This senseless tragedy must be investigated and the officer responsible must be removed from our streets and face justice for his actions,” Thompson said in a statement to the AP. he said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer close Democrats announced earlier this year that the Department of Homeland Security impose restrictions on immigration enforcement The consequences of not putting guardrails on ICE are now measured in lives, ops said.
“The Trump administration put 12,000 agents on our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry badges and guns — and Republicans gave this rogue agency vast authority and no accountability,” Schumer said in a statement. he said. “They empowered ICE. Now they need to work with us to prevent more murders.”
The report about Brouillette’s troubled past comes as the Department of Homeland Security is engaged in an investigation. hiring spreeIt is fueled by large sums of money from Republicans in Congress to help carry out President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda. raises new questions About the department’s efforts to expeditiously recruit, vet, train and dispatch soldiers to patrol communities across America.
Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, referenced her previous statement that “an impartial investigation into the Biddeford shooting must move forward because the details surrounding this tragedy are important.”
Collins had previously said That it was “extremely unfortunate” that the agent did not have a body-worn camera.
The senator provided $20 million to expand the use of body-worn cameras and $2 million for de-escalation training as part of the Homeland Security funding bill that Republicans passed to end the department’s shutdown.
“The democratic government shutdown has delayed the enactment and implementation of these important security measures,” he said.
At least 10 people have died in clashes with immigration officials since Trump launched the crackdown after taking office; These include Colombian citizen Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot and killed Monday by Brouillette while in his car near his home in the coastal Maine town of Biddeford.
“This bombshell is absolutely terrifying; the intolerable danger we fear because of arrest quotas and inadequate training,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told the AP. he said.
“This agent should never have had a gun, let alone one issued to him by the United States government. And now a man is dead. I will continue to demand answers and accountability,” he said.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., referring to Customs and Border Protection, said Trump and his administration “encourage ICE and CBP to enter and terrorize our communities even when those agents are untrained, improperly vetted or inexperienced.”
“The murder of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was appalling,” he told the AP, “and a credible, independent and transparent investigation is needed to hold those responsible accountable.”
