BIDDEFORD –– Protestors took to the streets outside of the offices of U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) statewide, demanding she take responsibility for what they said was support of ICE.
The Maine People’s Alliance, together with the national grassroots organization Popular Democracy, organized the protests Tuesday, including one outside Collins’ Biddeford offices on Main Street. The protest comes after the shooting death of Johan Sebastián Guerrero by an ICE agent in Biddeford.
“We are here to stand up for Johan, and all of the others murdered by ICE, all of those who have died in ICE’s custody, all of those who have been taken away from their families and all of those who have been sent to prisons, to countries where they have never been, and have no ties,” Julie Sherman, York County community organizer with the Maine People’s Alliance, told the assembled crowd outside Collins’ Biddeford offices on Main Street.
A mariachi band played music, while a crowd lined the sidewalks of both sides of Main Street outside Collins’ offices, all carrying signs bearing slogans such as “Using secret police: This is fascism!” and “Silence = Death.”
State Sen. Henry Ingwerson (D-York) called Collins out for voting in April to spend $70 billion on ICE. Ingwerson noted that the funding bill did not include “guardrails” Democrats wanted, such as requiring ICE agents use body cameras, banning them from using masks, and requiring agents to identify themselves by name and badge number.
“There was no guardrails included and she still voted ‘yes’ on it,” he said.
Among the speakers was Alessia Gaspar Da Silva, 50, of Bridgton. Her husband, Marcos Gaspar Da Silva, was arrested on Jan. 20 in Portland. She said Marcos has been held in terrible conditions, and remains in ICE custody today.
“Why, if you took an oath to be for everybody in Maine, are you picking the administration of criminals?” Gaspar Da Silva said when asked what her message was to Collins.
The protestors urged Mainers to vote Collins out of office this fall, as she faces off against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson.
In a statement to Spectrum News, Collin's campaign wrote: "Senator Collins and Maine’s entire congressional delegation have called for a thorough, independent investigation into the tragic death of Johan Guerrero. It’s clear ICE needs to improve its performance, but ICE also conducts crucial work. Troy Jackson stands with Bernie Sanders and the Democratic Socialists of America in calling for ICE to be abolished. That is an extreme position that would make Maine and America less safe. Anyone calling for abolishing ICE is calling for the agency to cease critical efforts to combat human trafficking, child exploitation, forced labor and international drug smuggling."
