Federal Immigration Officer Shoots Driver Who Tried to Flee During Vehicle Stop in Biddeford, Maine

m. The Department of Homeland Security said Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal when an individual left the residence in a vehicle.

Officers attempted to stop the vehicle, which then tried to flee, prompting an officer to discharge his weapon out of concern for public safety.

The person killed was not the target of the immigration enforcement operation, Maine Senator Angus King said. Local immigrants’ rights groups identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian man who was authorized to work in the United States and had been issued a social security number.

A NewsNation journalist reported, citing sources, that the victim had a final order for deportation, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin made the same claim.

ICE officials were not wearing body cameras during the operation, King said. The FBI will lead an investigation into the shooting, and Maine’s attorney general is also actively investigating. An eyewitness told the Portland Press Herald he heard what sounded like fireworks, then saw an SUV trying to ram a small white car.

Another eyewitness told the Biddeford Gazette he saw at least two officers in green ICE vests yelling loudly and heard at least four gunshots. Social media images showed numerous bullet holes in the windshield of the vehicle. The Guardian reported that this is the 11th person fatally shot by federal immigration officials since President Trump took office in his second term and the fifth of those killed by ICE while driving a vehicle.