Large protest against ICE draws more than a 1,000 people to Monument Square

As the public outcry against the fatal shooting of 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by federal immigration agents continues, more than a thousand people gathered in Monument Square in Portland to protest U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Mainers have taken to the streets all week, starting hours after the Biddeford resident and young father was shot as he was leaving for work Monday morning. In the days since, community organizers and political leaders throughout Maine have rallied against the federal agency, with many publicly calling for its abolishment.

Saturday’s rally was no different. Several speakers highlighted the need for continued community organizing, and holding elected leaders accountable for their actions.

“Johan’s death did not happen in isolation. It exposed the reality that immigrant communities had been living with for months,” said Safiya Khalid, a community leader from Lewiston.

“It was a result of an immigration system that has increasingly become punitive, increasingly militarized and increasingly disconnected from the humanity of the people it touches.”

Three days after Guerrero was killed by federal immigration agents, his wife Karolina Rojas Alvarez spoke to the press, remembering him as a loving and devoted father and husband who took care of their family, went to the park with his daughter every afternoon and held her until she fell asleep every night.

Speaking through tears, Rojas Alvarez said her husband “always dreamed big, and he had so many dreams left to fulfill.”

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed earlier this week that Guerrero was not the target of the agency’s investigation. An ICE spokesperson told Maine Morning Star that the agency was doing targeted surveillance on the last known address of someone with a final order of removal. “The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon,” the statement from an unnamed ICE spokesperson read.

Dale Knight of Portland, a former law enforcement officer, said ICE agents “will protect themselves and they will protect one another — and that’s wrong.”

Multiple news media have reported the name of an agent alleged to be responsible for the shooting, which also appeared on protest signs Saturday. Maine Morning Star is not naming the agent because the information has not been independently confirmed by the Maine Attorney General or the Department of Homeland Security.

Throughout the week, protesters have called out Sen. Susan Collins, criticizing her vote in favor of adding $70 billion in funding for ICE. At Saturday’s rally, many attendees held up signs that said “ICE pulled the trigger. Sen. Collins gave the gun.” After the speeches, people marched through downtown Portland through the rain to Collins’ office.