A person was killed Monday in an ICE-involved shooting in Biddeford, Maine — the state’s sixth-largest city, situated on the Atlantic Coast.
About 18 miles southwest of Portland, the former textile milling hub is home to about 22,000 people and predominately White, according to the US Census Bureau. About 3.5% of its population was born outside the United States.
There are about 28,400 noncitizens living in Maine, according to the Vera Institute of Justice. That’s about 2% of the state’s roughly 1.4 million residents, according to US Census data.
US Sen. Angus King said the man killed was not the target of a warrant, reversing his earlier statement, after he spoke again with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.
The ACLU and other advocates filed a lawsuit against federal immigration agents for “abducting a lawful immigrant” during a statewide immigration enforcement surge in January, which the administration called “Operation Catch of the Day.”
More than 200 people were “picked up” during that operation, Rep. Chellie Pingree of Maine said today.
“But we have continued to see people who are having knocks come at their door, people who are afraid to go to work, people are afraid to go to the grocery store. Even though they’re legally here, they’re worried that their status won’t be believed and they will be picked up and detained,” she said.
This post has been updated.
