Second death in seven days sparks investigation and public outcry in Maine
Updated ,first published
Washington: Sudden protests have broken out in the US state of Maine after immigration officials were involved in another deadly shooting that left a 26-year-old Colombian man dead, according to immigration advocates.
This is the second death of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in seven days. shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was captured during a pursuit in Houston last week.
The Maine attorney general’s office said it is investigating the use of deadly force by an ICE enforcement and removal operations officer in Biddeford. In the initial statements, it was stated that the murder occurred while the man was trying to escape by driving towards the police.
However, there was confusion over the identity of the victim. Maine senator Angus King initially said the man was the target of ICE officers’ arrest warrant, but later said updated recommendations showed he was not.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday morning (US time). Officials, including the Department of Homeland Security, had not made any public comment in eight hours.
Witness Lucas Scott, told Portland Press Reporter He said he was driving through the intersection at the time of the fatal shooting and the driver “attempted to hit the ICE officer.”
“The ICE agent was yelling and pulling his gun,” Scott told the newspaper. “He continued to yell, scream and warn the person driving the car as the car started and the internal combustion ice attempted to hit the officer.
“He fired, probably four shots… I just heard the explosion, but I saw him point the gun at the windshield.”
King, an independent Maine senator who caucuses with Democrats, said he spoke with DHS secretary Markwayne Mullin, who promised him a full and transparent investigation.
“Anytime there is a loss of life, it’s a tragedy. We don’t know the circumstances at this point,” King said at a news conference.
He also said the agents involved were not wearing body cameras, meaning he wasn’t sure if that would give the investigation a clear picture of what happened.
“We were told body cameras would be widely distributed,” King said. “I’m concerned. They should have had body cameras two years ago, when this all started.”
Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition and Presente! Both immigration advocacy groups, Maine, said the slain man was a 26-year-old Colombian who “was authorized to work in the United States and was issued a Social Security Number.”
“We are grieving, we are angry and we will not allow his death to be seen as routine or inevitable,” said MIRC director general Mufalo Chitam.
“How much more harm must our communities endure before those with the authority to act recognize that this has gone too far?”
At first, King said, the DHS secretary stated in his conversation with Mullin that the person in the shooting had been arrested and removed from the country because he was not there legally.
But he later said updated information from Mullin showed the man was not actually the target of the arrest warrant officers were executing.
The consecutive deaths of people evading arrest by ICE come six months after the United States was rocked by the killings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were protesting ICE raids in Minneapolis during an enforcement blitz.
These killings marked a turning point in public attitudes, prompting U.S. President Donald Trump to send border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota and scale back operations in the state.
But ICE continued to implement the administration’s mass deportation agenda. The Associated Press reported that the agency arrested 10,000 people in five days in late June; This means a significant increase in sanctions.
In Maine, protesters gathered at Mechanics Park in Biddeford and outside Republican senator Susan Collins’ office on Monday, holding signs that read “F— ICE” and chanting “Vote for her.”
Collins, who has broken with Trump on many issues and is running for re-election in November, told
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who is currently running to become the state’s next senator, said at least 11 people have been shot and killed by ICE or Border Patrol since Trump’s crackdown began. This figure is also voiced by immigration advocates.
“It is time to get ICE off our streets,” Bellows said.
Michael Koziol is the North America correspondent for The Age and the Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former Sydney editor, Sun-Herald deputy editor and a federal political correspondent in Canberra.Connect with: X or email.
