Democrats call for investigation into ICE officer shooting in Maine after new reports emerge

Democratic lawmakers are pressing for a review of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hiring practices and continuing calls for an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the killing of an immigrant in Maine by one of the agency’s officers. News media, including the Associated Press, the Portland Press Herald and NPR, have identified the officer as David Brouillette, citing his family members. They also reported allegations that Brouillette had a history of mental health issues and had subjected his ex-wife to violent, threatening behavior.

The victim is Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian man, who was shot dead on July 13 in Biddeford, Maine. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, has not identified Brouillette. However, Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi congressman and the top Democrat on the US House’s homeland security committee, stated that the officer’s alleged violent history “directly call[s] into question the supposed vetting and training ICE does of its recruits.”

Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer criticized the Trump administration for rushing to hire thousands of ICE officers to carry out mass deportations. He accused the administration of sending 12,000 agents “onto our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry a badge and a gun.” Schumer argued that the president and his Republican allies “gave this rogue agency vast power and no accountability.”

The AP reported obtaining a voicemail that Brouillette allegedly left his ex-wife, Ashley, in late 2025, in which he says: “Do I think that you should have your … throat cuts or should have had them cut? Yep.” Brouillette was reportedly a military veteran and former police officer before joining ICE in 2025.

Guerrero’s killing came in a week that saw three other ICE-related deaths, including the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas. DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis said the agency “will never confirm or deny attempts to dox our law enforcement officers,” but claimed the officer in question has nearly a decade of federal law enforcement experience. Guerrero leaves behind a three-year-old daughter and the child’s mother.