ICE-involved shooting leaves 1 person dead in Maine, officials say

BIDDEFORD, ME – One person is dead after a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Maine, multiple state officials said, less than a week after an ICE agent shot and killed a man during a traffic stop in Houston.

The shooting occurred on the morning of July 13 in the downtown area of Biddeford, a city about 15 miles south of Portland, according to a statement from Gov. Janet Mills. She said state police were working with the Maine attorney general's office, the medical examiner and federal officials to "determine the facts of what occurred."

"I know that situations like this are alarming and frightening," Mills said.

ICE and the FBI did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Biddeford Police Department referred USA TODAY's questions to ICE and said there is no ongoing threat to the public.

The shooting comes less than a week after an ICE agent in Houston fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop. The case triggered protests and a wave of scrutiny on federal agents months after the shooting deaths of Alex Pretti and Renee Good by immigration officers in Minneapolis.

Sen. Angus King, D-Maine, said at a news conference that he spoke with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the shooting. Mullin, King said, identified the person who was killed as a man in his 20s, and added that he "had been given an order to leave the country."

However, immigrant rights groups, including the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine, said in a statement that they confirmed "the young man was authorized to work in the United States" and was issued a Social Security number.

Mullin also accused the man of using his vehicle as a weapon, King said. "He was in a vehicle, pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was 'weaponize the vehicle.' He was shot by an ICE agent," King told reporters.

Federal officials have repeatedly accused people shot by immigration authorities of using their vehicles to ram agents. For example, Good was shot and killed inside her car on Jan. 7.

The fatal shooting of the 37-year-old woman was captured on video by witnesses. Analysis of the footage by USA TODAY showed Good's vehicle appeared to be turning away from the officer who opened fire on her at the time of the shooting.

Within hours of the incident in Biddeford, people began to protest near the crime scene, chanting and holding signs reading "Leave Biddo" and "ICE Out of Our Neighborhoods." Dozens also gathered at a nearby park, where a woman with a bullhorn shouted, "ICE shot and killed a man in Biddeford! Murder! Murder!" Several motorists honked in support as they drove by.

Among the protesters near the shooting scene was Kyle Billings, who said he thought he heard three or four gunshots shortly after waking up.

"Sure enough, that's what it was," he told the Portsmouth Herald, part of the USA TODAY Network.

'Operation Catch of the Day'

In January, ICE launched a five-day enforcement effort in Maine dubbed "Operation Catch of the Day." The agency surged federal agents into the state and accused its leaders of having "sanctuary" policies.

The agency said it arrested around 200 people it described as the "worst of the worst." But only 11 of those arrested had a criminal record, according to an analysis of federal data by The Maine Monitor and Bangor Daily News.

The surge in Maine mirrored similar deployments to other states, including Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Tennessee. But after fierce backlash over the deaths of Pretti and Good in Minneapolis, as well as a leadership shakeup at the Department of Homeland Security, the highly visible operations largely came to an end, though immigration-related arrests have continued nationwide.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE-involved shooting leaves 1 person dead in Maine, officials say

Reporting by Christopher Cann, Shawn P. Sullivan and Natalie Neysa Alund, USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 2:45 PM.