AUGUSTA — The state’s largest public health organization is urging lawmakers to push back against aggressive tactics by federal agents following the death of a Biddeford man on Monday.

Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 26, was shot and killed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents during an attempted traffic stop. And while state and federal officials investigate the circumstances of his death, the Maine Public Health Association is calling for the violence to stop.

“We urge our elected officials to do everything in their power to support de-escalating ICE operations,” said Matt Wellington, associate director of the association. “That includes shining a bright light on ICE activity so that they’re fully transparent and accountable.”

And while Monday’s death in Biddeford is the latest example, Wellington said many Mainers have lived in fear since January, when ICE surged agents into the state as part of “Operation Catch of the Day.”

“This kind of fear, intimidation and violence has really profound impacts on people,” Wellington said. “That means parents don’t want to send their kids to school, folks are afraid to show up to work and there’s this collective anxiety and trauma.”

As community members and others continue to react to Monday’s shooting, President Donald Trump posted on social media Wednesday that ICE should continue using traffic stops as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.

A day earlier, some administration officials had said ICE would temporarily suspend the stops most times following the death of Guerrero and a man in Texas within eight days.

Also on Wednesday, Gov. Janet Mills sent a letter to the Maine congressional delegation calling for ICE reforms.

“Before more families are robbed of a loved one, this violence has to end,” she said. “Before one more community is robbed of its peace and security, this has to end.”

She called for fundamental reforms and said if that’s not possible, the agency should be abolished.

Wellington said his organization believes that the longer aggressive ICE enforcement continues, the more difficult it will be for community members to heal.

He said those who feel anxious should not hesitate to seek medical help. The public health association, which represents 80 organizations across Maine, rarely weighs in on these types of national issues, he said.

“We focus on making Mainers’ lives healthier and safer,” he said. “It makes sense for us to be talking about collective trauma from violence like this. It’s just not something I expected us to have to do.”