Remember Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, 25, Who Was Shot and Killed by ICE Thugs in Biddeford on Monday, July 13, 2026. He left Behind His Widow and Three Year Old Daughter.
Today, US Reps Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Bennie G. Thompson (D-MISS), Ranking Member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Rep. Troy Carter (D-LA), a member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, hosted a Democratic shadow hearing examining Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) use of force and abuse of power following the tragic killing of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero in Biddeford last month according to a press release issued by Congresswoman Pingree’s office late this afternoon.
The hearing, titled “Seeking Justice in Biddeford: Oversight of ICE’s Use of Force in the Death of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero,” brought Members of Congress to Maine to hear directly from the Duran Guerrero family’s legal representation, local officials, and immigrant rights advocates about the investigation, the need for accountability and the effects of ICE operations on communities across the state.
“Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero should be alive today. His family deserves answers and the people of Biddeford deserve to know how an ICE operation in their community ended in an innocent man’s death. Today’s testimony laid bare the devastating human cost of allowing ICE to operate with impunity in our commuities and underscored the urgent need for transparency and accountability,” said Pingree. “As demonstraed today by their absence and utter ambivalence to the terror ICE is inflicting across the country. Republicans refuse to hold this Administration accountable for the atrocities committed using Americans’ tax dollars. My Democratic colleagues and I will keep fighting for the truth, for justice for Johan and his loved ones and for safeguards to ensure no other family has to endure a tragedy like this.”
“Today’s hearing made clear that the Guerrero family deserves accountabiity and justice for Johan Sebastian’s death. ICE cannot continue using reckless and deadly force without consequence,” said Ranking Member Thompson. “Congress must hold this agency accountable before another family is forced to endure this kind of tragedy.”
“While Republicans continue to fund, greenlight and cover up for ICE, Democrats are shining a light on the truth. And the truth is these are not protectors. This is a masked, secret police force that has terrorized childen, trampled on our Constitution and wielded violence as a political weapon,” said Democratic Whip Katherine Clark. “We will continue fighting to secure justice for Johan, for his famly and for every American who has been targeted by this unhinged admiistration.”
“We must hold the line against the Trump administration’s reckless, unaccountable immigration enforcement. The killing of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero is not an isolated incident. It fits a pattern of ICE agents operating with impunity in communities across the country, from Louisana to Maine. Democrats are stepping up when Republicans in Congress have failed to act, demanding the transparency and accountability that ICE and the Trump administrton have refused to provide. The rule of law must still mean something in America, and that means no person, whether a mother detained without warning, a student punished for speaking out or a man killed by the very agents meant to protect and serve, should be denied justice. Congress has a constitutional duty to conduct oversight and we intend to fulfill it until ICE is held accountable,” said Congressman Troy A. Carter, Sr (LA-02)/
Witnesses included Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain; Ben Gideon, legal representtive for the Duran Guerrero family; Sue Roche, Executive Director of the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project; Mufato Chitam, Executive Director of the Maine Immigrants Rights Coalition and Crystal Cron, Executive Director of Presente! Maine.
“A federal force came into my city, exercised one of the most extraordinary powers the government possesses – the use of deadly force – and left the consequences for Johan’s famly and our small community to carry,” said Mayor Liam LaFountain. “An arrest can be challenged. A removal order can be reviewed. A death, however, cannot be reversed – not by Congress, not by a court, not by this Committee. That is why the safeguards around deadly force should be the strongest we have. And yet in Biddeford on the morning of July 13, thy were the weakest. Biddeford is a city of 23,000 people. We were left to absorb the aftermath of that federal law-enforcement operation without federal support.”
“Our son was a wonderful person – responsible, honest and loving. These are the values we taught him in our home. He was known for his big smile, his big, kind heart and for always being willing to help others,” said Duran Plata. “Our son always worked hard to give the best he could to his little family, but also to us as his parents and to his sisters. Johan Sebastian always looked out for his mother, who suffered from breast cancer. Our son was always there, giving her the strength and support she needed to keep going. Despite the distance, he was always there for her, with a message or phone call. Our dream was always to be reunited and to hold each other again. Today that dream can no longer come true. We do not know how to go on with life without you son. We only hope we can find the strength to continue.”