Press Releases

Today, U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine), Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.), and Rep. Troy Carter (D-La.), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hosted a Democratic shadow hearing examining Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of force and abuse of power following the tragic killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford.

The hearing, titled “Seeking Justice in Biddeford: Oversight of ICE’s Use of Force in the Death of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero,” brought Members of Congress to Maine to hear directly from the Durán Guerrero family’s legal representation, local officials, and immigrant rights advocates about the investigation, the need for accountability, and the effects of ICE operations on communities across the state.

“Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero should be alive today. His family deserves answers, and the people of Biddeford deserve to know how an ICE operation in their community ended in an innocent man’s death. Today’s testimony laid bare the devastating human cost of allowing ICE to operate with impunity in our communities and underscored the urgent need for transparency and accountability,” said Pingree. “As demonstrated today by their absence and utter ambivalence to the terror ICE is inflicting across the country, Republicans refuse to hold this Administration accountable for the atrocities committed using Americans’ tax dollars. My Democratic colleagues and I will keep fighting for the truth, for justice for Johan and his loved ones, and for safeguards to ensure no other family has to endure a tragedy like this.”

“Today’s hearing made clear that the Durán family deserves accountability and justice for Johan’s Sebastian’s death. ICE cannot continue using reckless and deadly force without consequence,” said Ranking Member Thompson. “Congress must hold this agency accountable before another family is forced to endure this kind of tragedy.”

"While Republicans continue to fund, greenlight, and cover up for ICE, Democrats are shining a light on the truth. And the truth is these are not protectors. This is a masked, secret police force that has terrorized children, trampled on our Constitution, and wielded violence as a political weapon,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “We will continue fighting to secure justice for Johan, for his family, and for every American who has been targeted by this unhinged administration."

"We must hold the line against the Trump administration's reckless, unaccountable immigration enforcement. The killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero is not an isolated incident. It fits a pattern of ICE agents operating with impunity in communities across the country, from Louisiana to Maine. Democrats are stepping up when Republicans in Congress have failed to act, demanding the transparency and accountability that ICE and the Trump administration have refused to provide. The rule of law must still mean something in America, and that means no person, whether a mother detained without warning, a student punished for speaking out, or a man killed by the very agents meant to protect and serve, should be denied justice. Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight, and we intend to fulfill it until ICE is held accountable," said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr. (LA-02).

Witnesses included Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain; Ben Gideon, legal representative for the Durán Guerrero family; Sue Roche, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project; Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition; and Crystal Cron, Executive Director of Presente! Maine.

“A federal force came into my city, exercised one of the most extraordinary powers the government possesses—the use of deadly force—and left the consequences for Johan's family and our small community to carry,” said Mayor Liam LaFountain. “An arrest can be challenged. A removal order can be reviewed. A death, however, cannot be reversed—not by Congress, not by a court, not by this Committee. That is why the safeguards around deadly force should be the strongest we have. And yet in Biddeford on the morning of July 13, they were the weakest.Biddeford is a city of 23,000 people. We were left to absorb the aftermath of that federal law-enforcement operation without federal support.”

“[...] What happened in Biddeford, Maine, in the early morning hours of July 13, was the result of intentional policies and decisions—at the highest levels of our government-that treat the killing of innocent people as acceptable collateral damage,” said Gideon. “We know it's not an unintended, random occurrence, because it keeps happening, over and over again, in Minnesota, and Houston, and now in Biddeford. We know it's not an unintended, random occurrence because there is no remorse, no apology or even the slightest concern shown to those whose lives have been destroyed. And we know it's not an unintended, random occurrence because there has been no effort to investigate the causes of what happened, or to change anything to stop it from happening again.”

“People come for our mountains, coast, and small towns. But people stay because of something deeper: community. Maine is a place where neighbors shovel each other's driveways, bring food when a family is struggling, and check in on each other,” said Chitam. “For immigrant families, that is part of what makes Maine home.VAnd on July 13, something about that sense of home was shattered. Before Johan Sebastián Guerrero was killed in Biddeford, people feared what an encounter with ICE could mean. After July 13, their reality became all too clear—an encounter could mean they may never return home. A father left for an ordinary day and did not come home.”

“Johan's death is not an isolated tragedy. It is part of a system that has inflicted fear, separation, detention, and death on immigrant communities. The responsibility for his death, and the many deaths by immigration police and in ICE detention this year, is a collective one,” said Cron. “Maine people have been clear about what is needed. ICE out of Maine, ICE out from everywhere. The abolishment of ICE and all immigration policing is one of many steps toward repair. It is not the last. Today, Presente! Maine is calling on Congress to pass Congresswoman Ramirez and Congresswoman Clarke's Melt ICE Act to end DHS's funding to detain and monitor immigrants and reinvest those funds into services that support life. We ask you to mourn and grieve Johan Sebastián's life by abolishing ICE and ending all funding for immigration policing. Our healing and future depend on it."

“Johan Sebastián’s death is a devastating tragedy, felt by his family, the Biddeford community, and all of Maine. It is also not an isolated incident, and it was not an accident. It is the direct and foreseeable result of deliberate federal policy choices, rooted in racism and dehumanization,” said Roche. “ICE is an imminent public safety threat and must get out of our communities now. The billions of dollars that have been appropriated to immigration enforcement are wholly unjustifiable. Congress should take all steps to defund and dismantle ICE and put those taxpayer dollars towards the public good.”

Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero’s father, Omar Durán Plata, and Maine Governor Janet Mills delivered remarks to open the hearing. Their statements, as well as those who testified, will be entered into the Congressional record. 

“Our son was a wonderful person—responsible, honest, and loving. These are the values we taught him in our home. He was known for his big smile, his big, kind heart, and for always being willing to help others,” said Durán Plata. “Our son always worked hard to give the best he could to his little family, but also to us as his parents and to his sisters. Johan Sebastian always looked out for his mother, who suffered from breast cancer. Our son was always there, giving her the strength and support she needed to keep going. Despite the distance, he was always there for her, with a message or a phone call. Our dream was always to be reunited and to hold each other again. Today that dream can no longer come true. We do not know how to go on with life without you, son. We only hope we can find the strength to continue.”

“The people of Maine—like people across the country—do not want to live in fear in their own communities. They do not want to see their loved ones and peace-abiding neighbors struck down by federal agents,” Governor Mills said. “They do want to see qualified law enforcement agents cracking down on human trafficking, labor violations and illegal drug dealing. But they do not want federal agents roaming peaceful neighborhoods and stopping people for noncriminal behavior, stopping them based on the color of their skin, their accent, their ethnic origin or their status as a foreign born individual.”

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