Maine senators demand independent investigation after ICE shooting

National Security Maine senators demand independent investigation after ICE shooting Comments: by Rebecca Beitsch - 07/13/26 5:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Rebecca Beitsch - 07/13/26 5:09 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Maine’s two senators are demanding an impartial investigation into the fatal shooting of a Colombian man by immigration authorities, with Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) relaying claims from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that the man had weaponized his vehicle.

King told the Associated Press that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the killing, the second deadly shooting by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in the span of a week.

“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said of the killing in Biddeford, adding that he had a number of questions about the matter.

“The question is, what did he do with his vehicle?” King said. “Were officers threatened? Were the threats rising to the level that justified deadly force?

“That’s what this investigation is all about, and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible,” King added.

The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine identified the man as a 26-year-old Colombian citizen who they said was authorized to work in the U.S. and had a Social Security number.

“A 26-year-old man came to Maine to live and work, and now his family is mourning his death following an incident involving ICE. This is devastating, enraging, and unacceptable. His loved ones deserve answers, and the public deserves a full and transparent account of what happened,” the group said in a statement.

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) also stressed the need for an impartial review.

“The shooting in Biddeford requires a full and impartial investigation of what happened. It is my understanding that the Biddeford police have secured the site and that the FBI is investigating,” she wrote on X.

Neither ICE nor Mullin’s office has responded to a request for comment.

Maine’s Office of the Attorney General said it will conduct its own investigation but referenced initial statements about the man’s use of his vehicle.

“Initial statements indicate an Enforcement Removal Operations Officer was conducting an enforcement operation related to a final order of removal when the subject attempted to flee in a vehicle in the direction of the officer and was fatally shot,” the office said in a statement.

“The Attorney General’s Office is actively investigating the incident and will remain on scene with various authorities to continue its investigation.”

DHS has repeatedly come under fire for accusing those shot by ICE of being aggressive with officers only for video evidence to later contradict those accounts.

The ICE officers interacting with the Colombian man were not wearing body cameras, and video footage reviewed by The Hill did not show the moments leading up to the deadly shooting.

One video shared online showed officers pulling a man who appears to already be deceased out of a car of the same model, the driver slumping out onto the pavement as officers still work to pull his hands behind his back.

ICE agents last week shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo as he was on his way to work in Texas, with the agency saying he tried to weaponize his vehicle.

But that account was contradicted by other men in the car.

“Less than a week since Lorenzo’s murder, ICE fatally shot another man in Maine. The murders at the hands of ICE aren’t one-offs, they’re a pattern,” Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) wrote on X.

“DHS and ICE can’t be reformed, they were built to violate our rights. We must abolish ICE and dismantle DHS.”