Biddeford officials are calling for justice and accountability for the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was shot on July 13 by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Residents, meanwhile, are demanding that their local leaders take stronger action to protect the community, which they say has been threatened for months by federal immigration authorities.

For the first city council meeting since Guerrero’s shooting, Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain read a proclamation into the public record calling for a thorough, transparent investigation into the shooting, and for the federal government to cease its “reckless and deadly” enforcement activities as well as reform the nation’s “broken and inhumane” immigration system. 

“We’d like to be clear about why we are here tonight,” said LaFountain, addressing the roughly 90 people who attended the Tuesday meeting, which was moved from its usual city hall location to Biddeford High School in order to accommodate the expected crowd. “We’re not here because of where Johan was born, we’re not here to make a political point. We’re here because Johan was a member of this community, our community.”

LaFountain also emphasized his ongoing support for Guerrero’s wife, Karolina Rojas Alvarez, who broke her silence last week to remember him as a loving and devoted husband and father.

“Tonight and across Maine there are immigrant families carrying a fear that the rest of us are not asked to carry,” he continued, “that fear is paralyzing…To our immigrant neighbors, you belong, you are part of who Biddeford is, and you should not have to carry this weight alone.”

During the public comment period, many residents pointed to the strong community response, including days of protests and a growing memorial at the corner of Hill and Pool streets where Guerrero was shot, as well as how people have been working together to support their immigrant neighbors since the federal government’s enhanced immigration enforcement operation in January.

But they said they wanted to hear more from their elected leaders about what is being done to protect the people of the city. Some suggested coordinating with other Maine cities that have large immigrant populations, passing ordinances banning face masks or unidentified law enforcement, making the city’s police cars more well-marked, requiring Biddeford police to intervene when residents are being threatened, and making a permanent memorial to honor Guerrero.

It’s unclear what legal authority municipalities have to rein in federal immigration enforcement, but community members shaken by their presence the past several months called on their leaders to take more proactive steps.

“The mayor’s statements have been necessary and tonight’s proclamation may properly honor Johan, but statements and ceremony will not make us safe. They do not answer the question before us: What do this city council and this mayor intend to do?” said Sam Pecor, who ran unsuccessfully for city council in November. 

Pecor added, “political responsibility includes what government bodies do after recognizing a danger — a danger that we recognized in January. Limited power is not no power.”

Tophe Thorne, who works for the immigrant support and advocacy group Presente! Maine, said the group warned officials in the winter that “the longer that ICE remained embedded in our communities, the more likely it was that someone was going to die…and here we are, six months later, standing here, proven right in the worst possible way.” 

Guerrero was the 22nd person shot at by federal immigration officers during President Donald Trump’s second term. The Columbian national was not the target of the federal officers and had legal work authorization to work in the U.S.

Sam Bullock was a neighbor of Guerrero and told the council that for months ICE has been “very present” in their neighborhood. “Unfortunately for me as a resident, what happened on Monday was an incredibly tragic inevitability,” Bullock said.

She said other neighbors have shared with her how frightened they’ve been since the winter surge. 

“I’ve seen my immigrant neighbors pull their kids out of school. I’ve seen my immigrant neighbors be pulled out of cars by ICE in front of the children who are at the bus stops,” Bullock said, “the parents are terrified, the children are terrified.” 

“I’ve done what I can as a community member,” Bullock added, “but I feel so very let down by my elected officials that this was allowed to happen for so long.”

LaFountain, who was only sworn in last December, previously told Maine Morning Star that the state has been responsive and helpful in supporting the community through the aftermath of the shooting.

“They’ve been giving us the information that they can — and that’s appropriate — and we’re going to continue to ask for that,” he said. The Maine Attorney General’s office is conducting an independent investigation into the shooting.

Throughout the week, protesters called to “get ICE out of Maine.” State law cannot dictate the actions of federal authorities while they perform their lawful duties, per the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. Maine has passed several laws that aim to rein in unlawful action and stop local cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. 

Biddeford police already do not cooperate with ICE. LaFountain said last week that the agency was “not notified of ICE’s interaction prior to them coming to the city…and I don’t see that changing.”

LaFountain’s proclamation also compared the law enforcement standards of the Biddeford Police Department with ICE agents’ lack of body cameras, use-of-force policies, and lack of de-escalation training.

“The enforcement agents of the United States Government fell far short of the professional standards routinely upheld by local police departments throughout Maine,” the resolve reads.

Several city council members said Tuesday they appreciated the comments and that there have already been discussions about what more could be done.

Abigail Woods, who represents Ward 2 where Guerrero lived, said she’s committed to taking action. “This does take all of us. You all have showed up, we have showed up,” Woods said. “We have a little bit more power that we should utilize, but you all have power as well. There’s power in the words you spoke tonight.”

Mufalo Chitam, executive director of the Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition, said history will remember what action the city leaders take.

“When something this big happens, and it happens on your watch as a leader, history is going to remember you. What did you do?” she said. “Let the immigrants remember that change came from a small town in Maine called Biddeford, let change come from this small town.”