Amid Trump administration silence, national Democrats hold ‘shadow’ hearing on fatal ICE shooting

ICE agents shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13 in Biddeford. Thirty five days later, no video footage of the shooting has emerged. 

While the state Attorney General’s Office confirmed it is continuing to investigate, whether there is a federal investigation is unknown, according to the members of Congress who convened Monday’s hearing and the legal counsel for the victim’s family. 

“When you look at the course of history, sometimes there are events, we call them inflection points,” said Ben Gideon, legal representation for the Guerrero family. “This could serve as an inflection point going forward, and I very much hope that it does.”

Gideon and other witnesses testified on Monday about the events leading up to the fatal shooting and the fallout before the convening panel, composed of U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree of Maine, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and two members of the Homeland Security Committee, ranking member Bennie Thompson of Mississippi and Troy Carter of Louisiana.

“We will use what we’ve heard to investigate these operations and to demand answers and to hold this administration accountable,” Carter said, before referring to the upcoming midterm elections. “If not now, in four months.”

President Donald Trump launched a mass deportation effort when he started his second administration in 2025. Since then, with the help of congressional Republicans, he has passed a record $240 billion in immigration enforcement funding, so far. 

With a lack of subpoena power, Democrats do not have the ability to compel officials from the administration to testify. Instead, they’ve used this type of field hearing, also called a shadow hearing, to hear from willing witnesses. However, as Thompson put it on Monday, those hearings have so far been met with “crickets” from the GOP.

“I know this hearing cannot bring Johan Sebastián back,” Pingree said in her opening remarks, “but Congress has an obligation to make sure that his death is not dismissed as an unfortunate consequence of immigration enforcement, and that his life is remembered for the humanity and dignity and love that he embroidered.” 

Unanswered questions 

After the hearing, Attorney General Aaron Frey confirmed his office is continuing to actively investigate the shooting. Once it is complete and he has determined whether the evidence collected supports any action under Maine law, the entire file will be provided to the Maine Deadly Force Review Panel for review and recommendations to prevent this use of deadly force in the future, a statement from his office read. 

However, neither the office nor the panel may exercise jurisdiction over the practices of the Department of Homeland Security. “It will be the responsibility of either the federal administration or Congress to address any questions raised by such review,” the statement read. 

Every Democratic member of Congress requested information about the shooting in a letter to Homeland Security on July 15. They have not received a response, Thompson confirmed on Monday. 

Gideon told reporters that no federal agency has reached out to the family or wife, Karolina Rojas Alvarez, who heard the shots and soon after saw her husband’s body, which would be typical when such an investigation occurs. 

“As far as we can tell the federal government has chosen to turn a blind eye completely,” Gideon said. 

The state Attorney General’s Office has interviewed Rojas Alvarez. The car Guerrero was shot in has been turned over to that office as well, Gideon said. 

LaFountain said the city has not heard anything from federal agencies regarding the fatal shooting. 

“The authority was federal,” he said. “The burden has been local.” 

That burden included securing the aftermath of the shooting scene while also standing up mental health and crisis support, he said. 

“Our police, fire, public works, schools, and community organizations have been stretched ever since,” he said. “We secured the aftermath of a scene we were not permitted to investigate.”

Several of the roughly 250 people who attended the hearing, which included many state legislators and local officials, shared frustration with Maine Morning Star about the lack of communication between the federal government and state and local authorities. That included Kate Bauer Burke, a former lawyer from Kennebunkport, who said it was “appalling,” and another Kennebunkport resident Audrey Lakin, who said she attended the hearing in the hope of getting more first-hand information.

Gideon condemned the federal government for blaming the victims in shootings. 

At first, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told independent U.S. Sen. Angus King Guerrero “weaponized” his vehicle before being shot by an ICE agent, an explanation the agency has frequently used. But ICE later said he attempted to flee and “fearing for public safety” an agent shot him. But, ICE said Guerrero was not the target of the operation. 

The federal government has not said who the intended target of the operation was, but ICE has said its agents were responding to the address of a person with a final order of removal. 

During the hearing, Pingree pointed to reporting in the Washington Post that Guerrero had been driving a car owned by his roommate when he was shot. Neither Guerrero nor his roommate had final orders of removal, Pingree said. 

Sue Roche, executive director of Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said the organization has reviewed immigration documents provided by his family and confirmed that he had a pending asylum application and was authorized to work in this country.

The federal government has also not confirmed the name of the shooter. Throughout the hearing, the members of Congress frequently cited media reports about the background of the alleged shooter, which included accusations of domestic violence, as evidence of a lack of vetting by the federal agency. 

Lasting impact

Traveling from Colombia for the hearing, Guerrero’s father, Omar Durán Plata, shared more about his son, while his mother, Dora Guerrero, sat beside, tears in her eyes. 

His son was responsible, honest and loving, he said, known for his big smile, kind heart, and for always being willing to help others. 

“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,” Durán Plata said. 

Since the start of Trump’s second term, particularly in the wake of a large-scale operation in January, many immigrants and people of color in Maine have become fearful to leave their homes, go to work and drop their children off at school. 

“The arrest may take minutes, but the disruption takes months,” said Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director of the Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition. 

She added, “ICE never left our state. As we speak, ICE is still picking [up] people.” 

People in Cumberland County have been detained outside court and at the airport in recent weeks, following a national trend of federal immigration authorities employing new tactics to boost arrest numbers. 

Demands

On behalf of Guerrero’s family, Gideon called on the Homeland Security Committee to immediately begin subpoenaing witnesses and documents to investigate the circumstances that led to the fatal shooting. 

However, Democrats are unable to do so on their own with Republicans in the majority. If Democrats flip the balance of power in November, Thompson told reporters he’d have “absolutely no problem with issuing subpoenas.”

Specifically, Gideon called for the committee to determine what policies allowed the agent who shot and killed him to have been deemed fit for hire, identify those responsible for hiring this agent and demand that they be held accountable. Gideon also urged the committee to determine what is behind the pattern of agents unlawfully shooting into motor vehicles and demand that the practice stop immediately. 

Further, Gideon said he intends to file a lawsuit against the U.S. government over the conduct of the officer’s shooting into a vehicle. 

Presente! Maine Executive Director Crystal Cron called on Congress to pass a pending bill from U.S. Reps. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) and Yvette Clarke (D-NY), called the “Melt ICE Act,” which would end funding for the Department of Homeland Security to detain and monitor immigrants, and redirect that funding toward wrap-around services, including housing and healthcare, for communities affected by immigration enforcement.

Public officials also reiterated their calls to fundamentally reform ICE, or if that is not possible, abolish it. 

“If Congress cannot hold ICE accountable, who can?” LaFountain asked the panel. Last month, he issued a formal proclamation calling for a transparent investigation and reform of the nation’s immigration system.

“Our state has taken action. Our city has tried to take action,” LaFountain said. “This is a federal problem that we need a federal solution for.” 

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