Mainers of all backgrounds across the state are heartbroken as ICE violence has culminated in another extrajudicial killing, this time in Biddeford on Monday. The loss of a young partner and father who came here seeking freedom and safety has shattered our community.
The killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero is not an isolated incident. It is part of a disturbing and deadly trend of state violence that is happening because of a failure of law.
We applaud Governor Mills’ statement that ICE "needs to be fundamentally reformed, and if not, then it is time to abolish it," and join her call on Congress to take action now.”
The violence that ICE is committing is not law enforcement in any meaningful sense. It is lawless, and terrifying, and deadly – and it must be stopped.
The ACLU issued a national report, Agents of Chaos and Cruelty, just days after Mr. Durán Guerrero’s death, documenting widespread civil rights violations carried out by immigration agents during the first year of President Trump’s second term. The report examines immigration enforcement incidents in eight states – representing a cross-section of the country and reflecting varying degrees of federal law enforcement presence and personnel surges. It found that over 400 of the more than 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents examined involved misconduct by immigration agents.
Record Funding, Diminished Hiring Standards
The report highlights intentional changes at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that have unleashed thousands of masked, menacing, and unaccountable agents on communities across the country at a scale that mirrors aspects of countries under authoritarian rule. The result of these changes has led to violence throughout the country, including widespread terror during "Operation Catch of the Day" and this week’s killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford.
With more funding than all other federal law enforcement agencies combined, ICE has recruited “agents” using far-right, Christian nationalist, and white supremacist advertising campaigns delivered directly to the phones of people at MMA fights and those playing on violent video game platforms.
The agency “hired 12,000 new agents in record time in 2025, based on diminished hiring standards,” according to the report. ICE has shortened required training hours and omitted critical legal frameworks, like use of force standards required by the Constitution. The violence that ICE is committing is not law enforcement in any meaningful sense. It is lawless, terrifying, and deadly – and it must be stopped.
The report also documents a systemic breakdown in accountability. As the ACLU has argued for over 25 years, our federal laws have not provided clear and enforceable restrictions on the Department of Homeland Security, nor have they ensured accountability when people lose their liberty or their lives. Congress had an opportunity to reform ICE during recent funding negotiations, but instead passed a blank check without the commonsense reforms that advocates and communities made clear were needed. What has always been an out of control agency has been turbo charged with unprecedented funding and power under the Trump administration.
ICE Out of Maine
In the face of this ongoing violence, three new ICE Out of Maine laws will take effect on July 29 and draw a clear line between this rogue agency out of the essential places where we live, learn, and heal: ICE Out of Policing, ICE Out of our Homes, and ICE Out of our Schools and State Healthcare.
These laws will protect our communities and ensure that local officials and resources are never used to support dangerous and chaotic federal immigration enforcement operations. The ACLU of Maine plans to hold state and local officials accountable for fully implementing the ICE Out laws from day one.
Stand Together, Know Your Rights
We are grateful to all those are working to provide support and mutual aid to the bereaved family and to thousands of Maine people across the state who are living in fear. No one can be free when they are afraid.
When we stand up to protest, or make our voice heard in the public sphere in other ways, we help create safety and freedom for all those around us. We encourage all Maine people to know their rights so they can make their voices heard and hold the government accountable by learning more at ACLUMaine.org/KnowYourRights.
