Just six days after ICE killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, who was not a target for deportation, agents killed another man in Maine. The second man killed was Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old father from Colombia. Like Araujo, Guerrero was not the target of the enforcement action. Instead, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were reportedly surveilling the home, waiting for someone else, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via social media.
“On July 13, 2026, at approximately 7:00 AM ET, ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal,” reads DHS’s social media post. “An illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and, fearing for public safety, an officer discharged his weapon.”
Most notable in DHS’s statement is the departure from the narrative of the agent claiming to have feared for their life, a widely used allegation that proved untrue in previous cases. The statement suggests that the agents were surveilling the house as Guerrero loaded his daughter into his car and began traveling before they attempted to take him into custody, leading to a traffic stop where they allege Guerrero tried to flee and ended with his three-year-old daughter witnessing his death.
“The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries,” the social media post continued.
Within hours after the shooting, the Office of the Maine Attorney General claimed that Guerrero fled “in the direction of the officer.” However, since witnesses have asserted to news media that they heard Guerrero say “I tried to stop” as he was being pulled out of the car, that narrative seems to have been abandoned in favor of agents “fearing for public safety,” as noted by DHS’s statement more than 12 hours after Guerrero was killed.
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The issue now, like in the Houston killing and many before it, is access to evidence, as the public is again left piecing together what happened from publicly available information. The discrepancies between what agents report and what the public uncovers are likely why ICE has ordered a pause on traffic stops. Capitol Hill reporter Pablo Manriquez asked DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullen about the pause. He did not deny it.
“We are always evaluating our procedures to keep our officers safe and criminals off our streets,” Mullen said. “We will not disclose or discuss law enforcement tactics.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME) said they’ve learned little from federal agencies about the shooting aside from the fact that agents were not wearing body cameras. With a total population of only 30,000 Latinos in Maine and a mere 588 in Biddeford, where the shooting happened, many are now questioning why ICE was focused on a state and city with such a small population of Latinos.
While racial and ethnic profiling has long been a major issue within ICE and other agencies, and has been widely used against Latinos since President Donald Trump’s second term began, the question now isn’t just about Latinos being targeted, but hunted. Given how many are neither criminals nor targets of immigration enforcement actions, the pattern is clear.
In yet another incident, ICE appears to have lied after killing someone. In this case, Guerrero was here legally, was authorized to work, and had a Social Security Number. Just as in the killing of Araujo, Guerrero was doing everything right. Both were killed for it, just six days apart. Meanwhile, the growing history of violence against civilians in the name of law enforcement in a so-called “civil society” continues unabated as the system of justice fails to hold anyone accountable.
NOTE: A third person was killed by a truck while fleeing from ICE agents in Florida. When the fear is death at the hands of ICE agents, people will take risks to escape it.
Arturo is an independent freelance journalist. He has written hundreds of articles on policing, immigration, race, and Latin America. His work has been featured in outlets such as Unicorn Riot, The Antagonist Magazine, Latino Rebels, The Wire, and more. Arturo is also on TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Mastodon, and Threads. To support his work, become a paid subscriber or donate via Venmo, PayPal, or Cash App.
Well, we know plenty of IDF Nazis & probably a few Ukrainian Nazis are employed by ICE. Why some of them look like a bunch ex-con Vatos from my old barrio being racists and killers is a little perplexing. Usually it's gang on gang violence. Sometimes I wonder if they are giving them the same drugs they give the Ukrainian troops unafraid of death or killing. We know they don't have to give anything to white racists. They kill anything that looks brown or black for free.