Congresswoman says target of ICE operation in fatal Maine shooting
wasn't up for removal
[August 19, 2026]
By PATRICK WHITTLE
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — The person Immigration and Customs Enforcement
agents targeted in Maine last month when an officer shot and killed a
motorist was a roommate who was not subject to a final removal order, a
Democratic congresswoman from the state said.
Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, was
shot and killed by an ICE agent in a car near his Biddeford home on July
13. Rep. Chellie Pingree said during a hearing in Maine on Monday that
ICE's intended target was Durán Guerrero's roommate, who was the owner
of the car Durán Guerrero was driving.
Pingree called the discovery a “shocking revelation in clear
contradiction to what ICE" and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security
have said about the shooting. She added that it was previously
established Durán Guerrero was not the intended target and also did not
have a final order of removal, but did have a pending asylum case and a
valid work permit.
“Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero should be alive today,” Pingree said
during the hearing. “More than a month later, there are still so many
basic questions that remain unanswered by ICE and the Trump
administration.”
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Monday that
it stands by its prior assessment of the shooting. ICE was conducting
“targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien
with a final order of removal,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
“We are not going to disclose law enforcement sensitive intelligence and
methods. Nowhere did we state that Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero or his
roommate were the target of the operation,” the spokesperson said.
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A woman visits a makeshift memorial for Johan Sebastián Durán
Guerrero, who was killed by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement, in Biddeford, Maine, July 15, 2026, (AP Photo/Robert F.
Bukaty, File)
The shooting of Durán Guerrero remains under investigation by the
Office of the Maine Attorney General. Pingree was among several
Democratic House members who spoke at a hearing in Biddeford on
Monday to discuss ICE's use of deadly force in the state. The
Department of Homeland Security said at the time of the shooting
that Durán Guerrero attempted to flee the scene and the ICE officer
discharged his weapon because he feared for public safety.
Pingree and other Democratic Congress members have also called for
answers from Homeland Security about its training and vetting of
agents after it was disclosed that the ICE officer involved in the
shooting had a history of violent behavior and mental health issues.
The shooting also appeared to lead to a policy change in which ICE
would suspend most vehicle stops, but President Donald Trump swiftly
expressed opposition to that change.
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