ICE agent fatally shoots Maine motorist during immigration operation as investigations begin
An Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a motorist during an enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, marking the second fatal ICE shooting in a week and at least the ninth death involving the agency since President Donald Trump began his latest immigration crackdown.
The man who was killed was identified by immigrant rights groups as a 26-year-old Colombian national. The Colombian Embassy said it is in contact with U.S. authorities and is providing consular assistance to the man's family.
The Department of Homeland Security said ICE agents were conducting surveillance at an address linked to a person with a final order of removal. Officials said agents attempted to stop a vehicle leaving the location, but the driver allegedly tried to flee, prompting an officer to open fire out of concern for public safety.
Sen. Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer fired after the driver allegedly attempted to use the vehicle as a weapon against ICE agents. King also said the agents involved were not equipped with body cameras.
King said investigators must determine whether the driver posed an immediate threat that justified the use of deadly force. He also said Mullin informed him the officers were serving an arrest warrant for someone other than the man who was shot, correcting earlier information that suggested the victim had been the target of the enforcement action.
Sen. Susan Collins said Mullin told her the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Inspector General is leading the investigation in cooperation with the FBI. The Maine attorney general's office is also investigating and said preliminary information indicates the motorist was attempting to flee in the direction of the agent. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave.
Witness Daniel Boucher said he heard several gunshots before looking outside and seeing a wounded driver inside a small vehicle. He said the car continued moving until it was stopped by an SUV. Boucher said he heard the injured man say, "I tried to stop."
Boucher also said the officer later told him the driver had tried to run him over. Security camera footage from a nearby business shows a white vehicle moving slowly through an intersection before a law enforcement SUV blocked its path. Officers then opened the driver's door and removed the driver from the vehicle. The footage does not clearly show when the shots were fired.
Advocacy groups said the man was authorized to work in the United States. They said his family has been in contact with local immigrant rights organizations but is not yet ready to speak publicly.
Neighbors described the victim as a devoted husband and father. One nearby resident said she witnessed the man's wife collapse beside his body while their young daughter cried nearby. Another local business owner said the man frequently visited her laundromat with his daughter and remembered him as kind and helpful.
The shooting sparked demonstrations Monday evening as several hundred protesters gathered in Biddeford calling for the abolition of ICE. A smaller group of supporters of ICE and President Trump also gathered nearby.
The shooting follows another fatal ICE encounter on July 7 in Houston, where officers shot and killed a construction worker after pursuing his vehicle. The incidents come as the Trump administration continues to expand immigration enforcement efforts, with more than 10,000 arrests made during a five-day period at the end of June.
ICE also carried out hundreds of arrests in Maine earlier this year before ending what it described as enhanced operations. Agency data shows 546 people were arrested in Maine between the beginning of Trump's second term and March 11, 2026. Approximately 45% of those arrested had criminal backgrounds, a lower share than during the comparable period before Trump returned to office.
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