Congresswoman says target of ICE operation in fatal Maine shooting wasn’t up for removal

A Democratic congresswoman from Maine said the target of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation that resulted in a fatal shooting in the state was not up for removal. The individual agents aimed to apprehend was not Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, the 25-year-old Colombian national who was shot and killed by an ICE agent in Biddeford, but rather his roommate, who owned the car Durán Guerrero was driving.

Rep. Chellie Pingree made the revelation during a hearing on Monday, calling it a "shocking discovery" that contradicted ICE and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's statements on the incident. Pingree emphasized that Durán Guerrero, who had a pending asylum case and a valid work permit, should still be alive. The Department of Homeland Security maintained its assertion that ICE was searching for an individual with a final order of removal, without disclosing specific details or confirming or denying the identity of the roommate as the target. The shooting remains under investigation by the Maine Attorney General's office.