Arabic version: عميل من وكالة الهجرة والجمارك الأميركية في ولاية مين يطلق النار ويقتل سائقًا كولومبيًا
A federal immigration officer shot and killed a 26-year-old Colombian motorist in Biddeford, Maine, in an encounter connected to an enforcement operation, local officials and witnesses say.
According to ABC News, Senator Angus King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told him the officer opened fire after the man allegedly tried to use his vehicle as a weapon while being pursued related to a final order of removal. The Maine attorney-general’s office, working with the FBI and other agencies, said initial statements suggested the motorist drove toward an agent. The agent involved has been placed on leave.
Witnesses described chaotic scenes on a residential street after shots were fired. Daniel Boucher said he heard a “pop, pop, pop” and saw a small car turned toward the curb and then moving down the street until an SUV hit it again. Boucher said he heard the victim say, “I tried to stop.” Cory Poulin, whose family runs a nearby laundromat, said security cameras at the business captured footage of the car rolling into the intersection after shots were fired and showed the car going in circles with bullet holes in its windshield. Maine State Police asked that footage not be released publicly, and the agents involved were not wearing body-worn cameras, Mr King said.
Two immigrant advocacy groups, the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition and Presente!, identified the man as a 26-year-old native of Colombia who they say was authorised to work in the US and had a Social Security number. The Colombian Embassy said it is in contact with US authorities. Dozens of demonstrators critical of ICE and federal enforcement gathered in Biddeford within hours of the shooting, and neighbours described family members at the scene, including a wife and young daughter.
The shooting is the second time in a week that agents from US Immigration and Customs Enforcement have used deadly force and is at least the ninth death in encounters with federal immigration officials since President Donald Trump returned to office 18 months ago. The incident comes as federal enforcement has ramped up, with ICE arresting more than 10,000 people during five days at the end of June. What happens next: the Maine attorney-general’s office, the FBI and other agencies are investigating the shooting and the circumstances that led to the use of deadly force.
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