'Second in a week': Protests erupt after ICE agent fatally shoots Colombian man in US
A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (Ice) officer fatally shot a 26-year-old Colombian national during an immigration enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine, on Monday, prompting widespread protests and calls for an independent investigation. Federal authorities and immigration advocates gave sharply differing accounts of the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting.
The shooting came less than a week after another Ice agent shot and killed a Mexican man in Huston, during a traffic stop in Texas, intensifying scrutiny of the agency's use of force during immigration operations.
According to a DHS statement, Ice officers were "conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal" when "an illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle," prompting officers to pursue it.
The department said an Ice officer, "fearing for public safety," opened fire when the driver attempted to flee. However, the statement did not explain how the driver posed a threat or confirm whether the man who left the residence was the individual under surveillance.
According to Reuters, immigration advocates said that the Colombian national was authorised to work in the US with a social security number, though they did not disclose his identity.
"This is devastating, enraging, and unacceptable," the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine said in a joint statement.
Witness account, questions over use of force
Eyewitness Daniel Boucher told Reuters he heard what sounded like firecrackers before seeing a white SUV collide with a smaller white car. He said an Ice officer pulled the wounded driver from the vehicle.
The photographs of the vehicle showed what appeared to be four bullet holes through the driver's side of the windscreen.
Maine senator Angus King said Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin initially told him the driver had 'weaponized' his vehicle against officers and was the subject of an immigration-related arrest warrant. King's office later said Mullin clarified that the victim was not the target of a warrant.
The shooting came less than a week after another Ice agent shot and killed a Mexican man in Huston, during a traffic stop in Texas, intensifying scrutiny of the agency's use of force during immigration operations.
According to a DHS statement, Ice officers were "conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal alien with a final order of removal" when "an illegal alien departed the residence in a vehicle," prompting officers to pursue it.
The department said an Ice officer, "fearing for public safety," opened fire when the driver attempted to flee. However, the statement did not explain how the driver posed a threat or confirm whether the man who left the residence was the individual under surveillance.
According to Reuters, immigration advocates said that the Colombian national was authorised to work in the US with a social security number, though they did not disclose his identity.
"This is devastating, enraging, and unacceptable," the Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine said in a joint statement.
Witness account, questions over use of force
Eyewitness Daniel Boucher told Reuters he heard what sounded like firecrackers before seeing a white SUV collide with a smaller white car. He said an Ice officer pulled the wounded driver from the vehicle.
The photographs of the vehicle showed what appeared to be four bullet holes through the driver's side of the windscreen.
Maine senator Angus King said Homeland Security secretary Markwayne Mullin initially told him the driver had 'weaponized' his vehicle against officers and was the subject of an immigration-related arrest warrant. King's office later said Mullin clarified that the victim was not the target of a warrant.
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