ICE Fatal Shootings Prompt Congressional Calls for Independent Investigations

In early July 2026, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents fatally shot two non-citizen motorists in separate operations. In Biddeford, Maine, 26-year-old Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was killed while police say he was not the target of the agents’ probe. A day later, in Houston, Texas, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national, died after attempting to flee a vehicle stop. Both incidents occurred during ICE vehicle-stop operations and have ignited nationwide demands for independent investigations.

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The shootings mark the ninth death linked to ICE since President Donald Trump intensified the agency’s immigration enforcement. House Democrats note that “DHS agents have shot at least 22 people just since the start of President Donald Trump's second term. Six of these shootings have been fatal, resulting in the death of US citizens and individuals with no criminal records.” Prior lethal encounters occurred in Minnesota (January) and Florida (recently). ICE agents typically operate without body cameras, and the identities of the officers involved in the Maine and Texas shootings have not been disclosed.

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• House Democrats leading the inquiry: Reps. Chellie Pingree (ME), Sylvia Garcia (TX), Bennie Thompson (MS), Jamie Raskin (MD), Pramila Jayapal (WA).

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• Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, who funds ICE.

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• Democratic Senate hopefuls Nirav Shah and Troy Jackson, who joined protests in Maine.

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• Activists: Lizeth Chacon (Workers Defense Action Fund), Jodi Hayashida (Multifaith Justice Maine).

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• Federal officials: DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin and ICE Acting Director David Venturella.

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The Department of Homeland Security asserted that agents were pursuing an individual with a removal order, though it did not confirm whether the deceased were that target. Senator Collins said, “While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops.” Congressional leaders have formally requested that ICE halt removal proceedings against witnesses, including Salgado Araujo’s brother Victor Hugo Salgado Araujo.

Common Dreams

Democrats argue the incidents reveal “enormous fear and outrage in the community, and raise serious questions about the safety of community members, regardless of immigration status.” They call for “immediate independent investigations… without interference.” Activist Lizeth Chacon described ICE as “a rogue agency… terrorized our community… widening a net of Americans in their ruthless execution of the mass deportation agenda.” Maine Senate candidate Nirav Shah criticized Collins, stating, “She’s got power, but she didn’t use it to rein in a rogue agency, and instead gave them a blank check to kill.”

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• “Both of these incidents have created enormous fear and outrage in the community, and raise serious questions about the safety of community members, regardless of immigration status,” — House Democrats

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• “No one can be guaranteed safety from this rogue agency, which has terrorized our community since long before the current administration, but is now capturing and even widening a net of Americans in their ruthless execution of the mass deportation agenda," said Lizeth Chacon, executive director of Workers Defense Action Fund, one of the groups demanding an independent probe.” — Lizeth Chacon, Workers Defense Action Fund

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• “She's got power, but she didn't use it to rein in a rogue agency, and instead gave them a blank check to kill,” — Nirav Shah, Senate candidate

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• “abolish ICE.” — Sen. Ed Markey

New York Times

Authorities have not confirmed whether Guerrero or Salgado Araujo were the individuals ICE sought, and the agents’ identities remain undisclosed. The Salgado family still lacks Lorenzo’s body, vehicle, and personal effects, underscoring a lack of transparency.

“Who Are the Assassins?” — Salgado Family and Hill Democrats Want Killer ICE Agents Publicly Named

Democratic lawmakers plan to issue subpoenas to DHS for documents related to the shootings and to press for a congressional oversight hearing. In Maine, party delegates will convene in late July to select a new Senate nominee, a process that candidates say will keep the ICE controversy at the forefront of the campaign.

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