PORTLAND, Maine (AP) 鈥� The person Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents targeted in Maine last month when an officer shot and killed a motorist was a roommate who was not subject to a final removal order, a Democratic congresswoman from the state said.
Johan Sebasti谩n Dur谩n Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, by an ICE agent in a car near his Biddeford home on July 13. Rep. Chellie Pingree said during a hearing in Maine on Monday that ICE’s intended target was Dur谩n Guerrero’s roommate, who was the owner of the car Dur谩n Guerrero was driving.
Pingree called the discovery a 鈥渟hocking revelation in clear contradiction to what ICE” and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have said about the shooting. She added that it was previously established Dur谩n Guerrero was not the intended target and also did not have a final order of removal, but did have a pending asylum case and a valid work permit.
鈥淛ohan Sebasti谩n Dur谩n Guerrero should be alive today,鈥� Pingree said during the hearing. 鈥淢ore than a month later, there are still so many basic questions that remain unanswered by ICE and the Trump administration.鈥�
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement late Monday that it stands by its prior assessment of the shooting. ICE was conducting 鈥渢argeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal,鈥� a spokesperson for the agency said.
鈥淲e are not going to disclose law enforcement sensitive intelligence and methods. Nowhere did we state that Johan Sebasti谩n Dur谩n Guerrero or his roommate were the target of the operation,鈥� the spokesperson said.
The shooting of Dur谩n Guerrero remains under investigation by the Office of the Maine Attorney General. Pingree was among several Democratic House members who spoke at a hearing in Biddeford on Monday to discuss ICE’s use of deadly force in the state. The Department of Homeland Security said at the time of the shooting that Dur谩n Guerrero attempted to flee the scene and the ICE officer discharged his weapon because he feared for public safety.
Pingree and other Democratic Congress members have also called for answers from Homeland Security about its training and vetting of agents after it was disclosed that involved in the shooting had a history of violent behavior and mental health issues. The shooting also appeared to lead to a policy change in which ICE would , but President Donald Trump swiftly expressed opposition to that change.
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