Congressional ‘shadow hearing’ on ICE killing shows agency is keeping the public in the dark
A filled auditorium during a congressional “shadow hearing” that brought top national Democrats to Biddeford High School on Monday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer)
BIDDEFORD — New information has emerged “in just the past few days” about the man federal immigration agents were pursuing when one of them shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13, Rep. Chellie Pingree told an audience of about 200 people who gathered in a high school gym on Monday.
She said the intended target was Durán Guerrero’s roommate, and that he did not have a final order of removal from the U.S., despite an Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement shortly after the shooting that said it was targeting someone with such an order.
Pingree called it a “shocking revelation,” that “clearly contradicts” what ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have been saying.
But later, talking to reporters in the school’s gym, Pingree said the information she shared came from reporting in the Washington Post (though the Post has not actually reported the roommate was the target). “It has not been confirmed to us by ICE,” Pingree clarified.
The confusion over the person she then referred to as the “presumed target” was a revealing demonstration of just how much congressional Democrats have been left in the dark by the Trump administration.
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The killing of Durán Guerrero, 25, has caused protests in several Maine cities. Residents want to know the circumstances of his death, but so far ICE and DHS have not explained what happened and have not said anything about the identity of the shooter or his vetting and training for the job.
U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree speaks during a congressional “shadow hearing” that brought top national Democrats to Biddeford High School on Monday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
On Monday, two members of the House Homeland Security Committee, as well as the second-most senior Democrat in the House, joined Pingree in Biddeford for what they dubbed a “shadow hearing” to conduct oversight of ICE and DHS. They said it was necessary because the Republican chair of the Homeland Security Committee hasn’t called an official oversight hearing since February.
They repeatedly said that whatever information they had came from media reports.
Despite their frustration and interest in holding ICE accountable for acts of violence in several U.S. communities, the Democrats who put on the event in Biddeford said they had not gotten answers to any of their myriad questions about ICE’s practices, and they had no information about to what extent the FBI or DHS Inspector General are investigating Durán Guerrero’s death.
Still, the hearing was a chance for top Democrats to hear directly from the southern Maine community, immigrant advocates and Durán Guerrero’s family about their concerns and what they want Congress to do.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, said he cried before the hearing with Durán Guerrero’s parents, Dora Guerrero and Omar Durán Plata, who live in Colombia and were present at the event.
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The family’s attorney, Ben Gideon, said it took courage for them to come to the United States from Colombia after their son was killed by a federal agent.
Victim’s parents attend hearing
Durán Plata spoke briefly to the four members of Congress on stage and the roughly 200 people in the crowd. He described his son as honest, responsible and loving, and said “we do not know how to go on with life without you.” He said Durán Guerrero’s 3-year-old daughter, Dulce, asks why her father doesn’t come home from work.
“I ask of God and the justice system that my son’s case be brought to light,” he said.
Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain said the city has not heard from anyone at ICE or DHS. Gideon said Durán Guerrero’s family members have not heard from those agencies, either, and he asserted that the FBI and DHS Inspector General are not actively investigating.
“We’ve had our own investigative team out on the ground, and they have not encountered any federal investigation going on anywhere in Maine,” Gideon told reporters after the hearing.
Omar Durán Plata, father of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, who was shot and killed the morning of July 13 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, holds the hand of his wife, Dora Guerrero, after speaking at during a congressional “shadow hearing” that brought top national Democrats to Biddeford High School on Monday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Several audience members said in interviews that they’re skeptical about whether there will be accountability for the shooting.
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The office of Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey is leading a state investigation, though his office did not participate in Monday’s hearing. In a statement released afterward, Frey said his office “continues to actively investigate the shooting.”
“This office has been collecting, processing, and analyzing evidence to determine whether Maine law authorizes legal action to address the conduct,” the statement said.
Gov. Janet Mills spoke briefly, saying she has “full confidence” in Frey’s office, “that they’ll complete a thorough investigation into the facts of this tragedy, and they’ll report them to the public in due course.”
The governor, a former prosecutor, got emotional talking about the U.S. Constitution and how she believes ICE is endangering people in Maine.
“This has to end, and if ICE cannot be fundamentally reformed, then it is time to abolish it,” she said. The crowd cheered. Throughout the hearing scattered voices in the audience shouted out, “We do not feel safe,” or “Abolish ICE,” or “Close it down.”
Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine listens during a congressional “shadow hearing” at Biddeford High School on Monday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Members of Congress and the witnesses they called to speak at the hearing argued Durán Guerrero’s killing was an intentional outcome of Trump administration policy. In addition to Pingree and Thompson, it included Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Rep. Troy Carter of New Orleans. Thompson said he invited Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee but they did not attend.
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“ICE is a danger to every community in which they are active if they are not held accountable,” Clark said. She called the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement “state-sanctioned terror.”
Shortly after the Biddeford shooting, President Donald Trump said on social media, “The men and women of ICE are doing a GREAT job, one that has to be done.”
On his way to work
Durán Guerrero had gotten in a car to go to work the morning of the shooting. Gideon said Monday that there were five gunshots. Pingree questioned whether the ICE agent knew whom he was shooting at.
This month, local artists created a 15-foot mural of Durán Guerrero and his daughter on the side of a building near the corner of Main and Alfred streets.
Durán Guerrero’s family allowed state investigators to take and search the car, though they told the Portland Press Herald they want his legal documents back, which will help them repatriate Durán Guerrero’s remains to Colombia so he can be buried there.
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A month after a man was shot by ICE in Biddeford, his family is waiting for answers
In the audience Monday, Dick Bennett, of Biddeford, said he wants to know what has happened to the ICE agent who shot Durán Guerrero. He’s been identified by an ex-wife as David Brouillette, though Brouillette hasn’t responded to requests for an interview and a phone number for him is not in service.
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“I believe nothing will happen to him and I don’t have faith he’ll be prosecuted,” Bennett said.
Katherine Rielly, of Buxton, said she didn’t understand why the attorney general’s office hasn’t taken any public steps toward a prosecution.
“If it was anyone else they would’ve arrested the person already,” she said. She worries the state will defer to federal authorities.
In response to concerns like those, the attorney general’s office said in its statement, “protecting the integrity of the investigation takes priority while evidence is still being gathered.”
Pingree told reporters that she doesn’t know anything about where Brouillette is or whether he still works for ICE.
A filled auditorium stands to recognize Omar Durán Plata and Dora Guerrero, parents of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, who was shot and killed the morning of July 13 by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, during a congressional “shadow hearing” at Biddeford High School on Monday. (Derek Davis/Staff Photographer) Purchase this image
Some of the biggest applause at the hearing was for LaFountain, who said his city and others have born a burden for aggressive immigration enforcement.
“A federal force came into my city, exercised one of the most extraordinary powers that governments possess — the use of deadly force — and left the consequences for Johan’s family and our city to carry,” he said.
“Immigrant residents in my city, including people with legal status, are afraid to go about their daily lives.”
Thompson said on July 15, every Democratic member of Congress signed a letter asking for details about the killing in Biddeford. To this day, he said, they have not received a reply from DHS or ICE.
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Tagged: biddeford ice shooting, chellie pingree
Rachel Estabrook is an accountability reporter at the Portland Press Herald. Before joining the Press Herald in 2026, Rachel worked in the newsroom at Colorado Public Radio for 12 years. She's originally. More by Rachel Estabrook
