BIDDEFORD, Maine — On the morning of Monday, July 13, 2026, shortly after 7 AM, ICE agents murdered Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26 year old father from Colombia in Biddeford, Maine. According to official reports, Guerrero left his home accompanied by his partner and young daughter. As they traveled down Pool Street, ICE thugs surrounded Guerrero and his family, causing him react evasively The officers alleged he attempted to flee in their direction, repeating the pretext the department stated following the murder of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo last week, just as with Ruben Ray Martinez and Renée Nicole Good. “Fearing for public safety”, according to an ICE statement, the agent discharged his weapon 4 times, fatally striking Guerrero. A neighbor on the scene reported that his last words were “I tried to stop” and that he died in the presence of his wife and child.
Joan Sebastian Guerrero possessed legal status in the country as well as a work permit. On the morning of July 13, he was reportedly on his way to work, in another similarity to the Araujo case. DHS has made contradictory statements regarding why they targeted Guerrero. Initial reports claimed ICE agents possessed an order for his removal. However, Markwayne Mullin, DHS secretary, later told a senator from Maine, that Guerrero “was not the target of (an) arrest warrant based on his immigration status.” The agents were not wearing body cameras, matching the fatal shooting in Houston last week. Guerrero’s murder marks the 31st homicide by ICE since January 2025, likely an under-count, and forms part of the latest surge in abductions across the country.
The response from the masses of Biddeford, Maine, has been swift. Approximately 200 people turned out for a noon-time rally in the town center condemning ICE and mourning the loss of a father and member of the community. The office of Maine senator Susan Collins was stormed by a crowd of protesters with chants promising her removal. The righteous demand for justice for Guerrero and all those murdered as part of the reactionary ethnic cleansing campaign must go beyond demonstrations, vigils, and protests and be annealed into a militant, organized neighborhood defense movement for the protection of all immigrant and vulnerable workers.
