Why the Death of Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine Is Sparking Massive ICE Protests
On Monday, July 13th, 2026, at approximately 7:17 am, a father of 26 years from Colombia named Joan Sebastian Guerrero left his Biddeford home to go to work. He never showed up. He was shot several times by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent. He was then pulled out of his car and handcuffed on the street for five hours.
Nearby, his 3-year-old girl, still wearing her Bluey pajamas, was.
By the end of the day, hundreds had gathered in Mechanics Park for a vigil. Protesters surrounded the office of a senator. Maine’s Governor called for an end to it. The story of Joan Sebastian Guerrero is the latest in a series of fatal ICE encounters, which have reshaped the national conversation about immigration enforcement.
Here is everything verified so far about what happened, who Guerrero was, and what it means.
What happened on Pool Street, Biddeford?
The incident occurred at the intersection between Pool Street and Hill Street, in Biddeford, Maine. ICE agents rammed Guerrero’s car, then approached with their guns drawn. Around 7:17 am, shots were fired.
Lucas Scott, a Biddeford local who witnessed the confrontation, saw an unmarked Ford Explorer flashing with lights and two officers wearing green ICE vests. Nelson Elias described the sounds he heard. He has known Guerrero, a neighbor, since 2024. They woke me up with screams. They told him to park his car. It was very loud. “Then, all of a sudden, they shot six times.” When he walked outside, Guerrero lay on the ground with his wife screaming and crying beside him. He said that his daughter was also there.
At the scene, four bullet holes in the windshield of Guerrero’s white Kia sedan were photographed.
The Portland Press Herald reported that witnesses saw agents drag a man out of the car. One person said they heard the victim saying “I tried stopping” before he stopped. A woman shouted, “You took her father, you took his dad!”
Guerrero was handcuffed on the street for about five hours following the shooting. Biddeford police officers provided security at the scene, but they were not involved in the shooting.
He was not the target, and that changes everything.
Officials from the federal government confirmed that Joan Sebastian Guerrero wasn’t the intended target of the agents who were executing the warrant.
The Department of Homeland Security reported that ICE agents were in Maine, hours after the fatal shooting. They were monitoring the “last-known address of an alien who had a final removal order.” DHS reported that agents tried to stop the vehicle, but when the driver fled, an agent fired “out of concern for the public’s safety.”
After hours of silence, ICE, DHS, and the FBI released a statement nearly 12 hours following the incident.
The contradiction was striking. Markwayne Mullin, DHS secretary, initially told Senator Angus King the victim was “given an instruction to leave the country”, and that he had “weaponized his vehicle”. His own spokesperson then confirmed to King, hours later, that Guerrero, in actuality, was not the subject of the warrant.
Immigration advocates in Maine confirmed that Guerrero had been authorized to work in America and had been issued a Social Security Number. At the time, he was on his way to work as a delivery driver.
In this incident, as well as the fatal ICE-involved shooting in Houston that same week, none of the agents were wearing body cameras. The ICE agent who fired the fatal bullet was put on leave. The identity of the officer has not yet been confirmed.
Who was Joan Sebastian Guerrero
Guerrero, a 26-year old Colombian man, lived in Biddeford along with his partner and 3-year-old girl. Nelson Elias, his neighbor, described him as “a good man.”
He was a delivery driver. His Facebook page was filled with photos of his young daughter and wife. He was well-known to his neighbors and recognized by the community.
Joan Sebastian Guerrero had just left for work when ICE stopped him. He was surrounded by his family moments after the shots had been fired. On July 13, the image of his daughter in pajamas, standing near him and repeated by many witnesses and journalists, became the center of attention.
Mufalo Chitamm, the executive director of Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, expressed the community’s reaction clearly: “We grieve, we are angry, and we won’t allow his deathto be treated as routine, or inevitable.”
Biddeford Protests
Hundreds of people gathered in Mechanics Park, Biddeford, on Monday night for a vigil honoring Guerrero. This was less than 12 hours after the shooting that occurred at Hill and Pool Streets.
After 7 p.m., the park that had been the scene of ICE protests all day took on a new tone. Passionate chants became songs of peace and love. About 10 minutes after the crowd gathered, local police blocked off traffic,c and the crowd marched slowly up Sullivan Street singing “Our Love is Stronger Than the Fear.”
Another group of protesters gathered in front of the office of Senator Susan Collins, Maine’s longtime Republican senator who is running for re-election. She faces political pressure and has already been chanting, “vote out.”
The sign that was left on the sidewalk near the shooting site, where people had put flowers and candles, es read: “Immigrants Make Biddeford Great.”
The local group Biddeford Saco for Racial Justice organised the first protest at noon on the day of the shooting. Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition contacted Guerrero’s parents from the very early morning. Project Relief, another advocacy group, had described Joan Sebastian Guerrero by evening as a valued community member.
Maine’s leaders respond to the political fallout.
Governor Janet Mills stated: “This new development makes this tragic event even more disturbing and infuriating. It also highlights the reckless, haphazard way in which immigration enforcement is conducted in Maine and throughout the United States. This must stop.”
Senator Angus King called a press event at the Portland International Jetport to demand answers and transparency. After hearing one version of events from DHS Secretary Mullin, and then another contradictory account hours later,r King demanded that an investigation be conducted transparently.
Mullin informed Senator Susan Collins that the FBI and the Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security would both begin an investigation into the shooting. The Office of the Maine Attorney General confirmed that it is also conducting an investigation.
Rep. Chellie Pingree and King both said they had little information from federal agencies regarding the shooting and believed that agents did not have body cameras.
Maine House Speaker Ryan Fecteau is among the officials of the state who have publicly acknowledged that the operation involved ICE.
The Pattern is Not Isolated
In less than a fortnight, federal ICE agents have fatally shot two people after stopping the wrong vehicle to execute an arrest warrant. Just days earlier, an ICE agent killed a Mexican Immigrant named Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic check in Houston, Texas. He was not the target of this operation.
In January 2026, ICE agents also shot and killed two U.S. Citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This was during a federal immigration enforcement drive into the Twin Cities. These deaths caused national outrage, and there were widespread protests.
According to the ICE List’s reporting, this is at least the 11th fatal shooting involving ICE agents or Border Patrol since the start of the second Trump Administration.
Maine is one of the states that the controversial Trump administration has targeted to send federal immigration agents. The administration launched “Operation Catch of the Day”, a large-scale operation in Maine that targeted “the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens” who terrorized local communities, but the operation ended only a few days later.
It is harder and harder to dismiss the pattern of DHS’s inconsistent statements, wrong vehicle stopped, body camera not present, fatal result, and no body cameras.
Frequently asked questions
Joan Sebastian Guerrero: Who was she?
Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year old Colombian man, lived in Biddeford with his partner and 3-year-old girl. He was a delivery driver who had been authorized to work in America.
Was Joan Sebastian Guerrero intended as the target of the ICE Operation?
No. Markwayne Mullin, DHS Secretary and a federal official, confirmed to Senator Angus Kinthat g Guerrero wasn’t the target of the warrants agents were trying to execute.
Where and when did the Biddeford, Maine ICE Shooting occur?
It occurred at the intersection between Pool Street and Hill Street, Biddeford,d Maine, around 7:17 a.m, on Monday, 13 July 2026.
Did the ICE agents wear body cameras?
No. No. Agents did not wear body cameras during this or the previous fatal ICE shooting in Texas.
What is the status of the Maine ICE shooting investigation?
There are multiple investigations underway, including those by the Office of the Maine Attorney General, the Office of Inspector General of Homeland Security, and the FBI. The ICE agent who fired the gun has been placed on leave.
What did the Maine Governor say about the Biddeford shootings?
After learning that Guerrero wasn’t the intended target, Governor Janet Mills said the shooting was “even more distressing and infuriating”, saying it “underscores how recklessly and haphazardly immigration enforcement operations in Maine and throughout the country are conducted.”
Is there a pattern in ICE shootings against the wrong target?
It is the second incident in less than a fortnight that ICE agents have fatally shot someone after stopping the wrong vehicle. The previous incident was Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who died in Houston, Texas, in July 2026. This is the eleventh fatal shooting involving ICE and Border Patrol since the beginning of the second Trump Administration.
Stay Informed as This Story Develops
There are multiple investigations ongoing,g and the full story has not yet been released. There are still many questions to be answered, including why Joan Sebastian Guerrero was stopped by ICE, if there is any dashcam footage or other evidence, and who the ICE agent was.
Follow USA Times Square to get the latest updates on the Maine ICE shooting and federal investigations, ns as well as the community response across Maine and Biddeford.
