BIDDEFORD, Maine — Massachusetts Rep. Katherine Clark and other high-ranking Democrats held a hearing in Maine on Monday about the killing of a man by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement
officer last month, raising questions about the agency’s actions and the information it used during the operation.

Federal investigators said ICE officers opened fire when Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a Colombian husband and father, drove his car toward an officer.

In a statement, the Department of Homeland Security said agents were conducting surveillance when a car left the residence. DHS said the driver failed to stop, and an officer opened fire, fearing for public safety. The officers involved were not wearing body cameras.

Guerrero’s parents, Dora Guerrero and Omar Durán Plata, received a standing ovation during the hearing.

Speaking through a translator, they said, “I ask only of God and the justice system that my son’s case be brought to light.”

The family’s lawyer, Ben Gideon, questioned the legality of the traffic stop.

“There was no lawful justification for stopping the car in the first place,” Gideon said.

New details about ICE’s intended target were revealed during the hearing. Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree said, “We have learned that ICE’s intended target, Johan Sebastian’s roommate and the owner of the car he was driving that morning, also did not have a final removal order.”

In July, ICE stated it was targeting someone with a “final order of removal” and claimed, “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon.”

“We know that Johan Sebastian was not the target of the operation. He did not have a final order of removal. He had a pending asylum case and a valid work permit,” Pingree added.

In the so-called shadow hearing, an unofficial proceeding, representatives heard from Maine’s governor, Biddeford’s mayor, the Guerrero family’s attorney, and immigrant rights advocates. Clark, the Democratic House Whip, was joined by Pingree and Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, ranking member of the Committee on Homeland Security.

“This is a mass secret police force that has terrorized children, trampled on our Constitution and wielded violence as a political weapon,” Clark said.

“If ICE cannot be reigned in and fundamentally reformed, then it is time to abolish it.” Her remarks were met with cheers,” Mills said.

Monday’s hearing was held in Biddeford, where Guerrero was killed.

Guerrero’s death was the fourth deadly shooting linked to the federal immigration crackdown this year:

Renee Good, 37, was shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis on Jan. 7. Agents stopped her sport utility vehicle during demonstrations and opened fire after video showed her pull forward.

Just a few weeks later, federal agents shot and killed VA nurse Alex Pretti, 37, in Minneapolis during a protest. Part of that confrontation was also caught on video.

On July 7, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was shot and killed after allegedly trying to evade ICE agents in Houston. The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement that Araujo, a Mexican national, ignored commands and attempted to ram an agent who fired his weapon in self-defense.

No one has been charged in connection with any of the deaths.

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Original article HERE.