BIDDEFORD –– Political leaders and activists testified Monday at a special hearing in Biddeford regarding the July 13 shooting death of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by an ICE agent.
Perhaps the most emotional comments came from his father.
“We feel a deep pain in our souls when his little daughter, our three-year-old granddaughter, asks for her daddy and why he doesn’t come home from work,” Omar Duran Plata said through a translator.
Ranking U.S. congressional Democrats, including Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) and Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) sat on the stage at the Little Theater, on the campus of Biddeford High School. A near-capacity crowd watched and occasionally cheered, while local and national media also attended.
Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, led the hearing, which he referred to as a “shadow hearing.” He said the purpose was to take testimony back to Washington as part of ongoing investigations into the actions of ICE, both in Maine and nationwide, including the Guerrero shooting.
“His death is a direct result of the Trump Administration’s unlawful, out-of-control immigration policies,” he said.
The theater is less than two miles from the corner of Pool and Hill streets, where Guerrero was shot and killed as ICE agents tried to stop him from driving away. During her opening remarks, Pingree noted that Guerrero was not the target of the ICE presence that day in Biddeford.
Pingree also said she has learned in recent days that it was Guerrero’s roommate that ICE agents were after, and that Guerrero was driving the roommate’s vehicle when he was shot. Pingree said like Guerrero, the roommate did not have a removal order.
“This shocking revelation is a clear contradiction to what ICE and DHS have been saying about this operation raises fundamental questions,” she said. “How is ICE deciding who to target and detain in Maine? What information are its agents relying on, and is anyone checking on whether that information is complete, or even correct?”
Gov. Janet Mills also testified, noting other ICE actions in Maine such as the arrest of two corrections officers, along with the recent detention by mistake of Deborah Kapisha, a nurse at Maine Medical Center in Portland.
“Today, I call on congress to rein in ICE,” she said. “Before more families are robbed of a loved one, this violence has to end.”
Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain also delivered testimony. He also called out ICE’s behavior, and described the agency as leaving chaos in its wake for local residents to deal with.
“A federal force came into my city, exercised one of the most extraordinary powers that governments possess: the use of deadly force,” he said.
As Mills, LaFountain and other officials listed ICE’s actions in the state, the audience called out in response. One person shouted, “We do not feel safe,” while another yelled, “State-sanctioned murder!” and many yelled “Shame!”
Other witnesses testified to legal issues related to the shooting, but Plata spoke of the impact to Guerrero’s family. He came from Colombia to participate in Monday’s hearing, and could be seen dabbing away tears when he paused for a translator to speak for him. He said he and Guerrero’s family were in touch with their son regularly, and looking forward to seeing him again someday.
“Our dream was always to be reunited and to hold each other again,” he said. “Today, that dream can no longer come true.”
Spectrum News has reached out to ICE for comment.