Maine Governor Visits memorial for Man Killed by ICE Agent, But Protesters Tell Her to Leave

Who Is Involved?

Let’s meet the people in this story:

• Janet Mills: She is the Governor of Maine. A governor is like the boss of a state. She is a Democrat (a member of one of the two big political groups in the U.S.).
• Mr. Guerrero: A man from Colombia (a country in South America) who came to the U.S. about 3 years ago. He lived in Biddeford, Maine, worked many jobs, and had a 3-year-old daughter with his wife.
• ICE: Stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Think of them as federal police for immigration rules. They can arrest or remove people who are in the U.S. without permission.
• Anna Parker: A spokesperson for Governor Mills (someone who speaks on her behalf).
• Senator Angus King: A U.S. senator for Maine.
• Kelsey Cummings: A local resident who helped protest after the shooting.
• Local residents and demonstrators: People in Biddeford who were angry and sad.

What Happened to Mr. Guerrero?

• Mr. Guerrero was killed in a shooting involving an ICE agent.
• The Department of Homeland Security (a big federal agency that includes ICE) said ICE agents were at a house trying to give a deportation order (a paper saying someone must leave the country) to a person’s last known address.
• Senator King’s office said the agents were not looking for Guerrero—they were looking for someone else.
• Guerrero was from Colombia, had been in the U.S. about 3 years, lived in Biddeford, and worked multiple jobs. He had a little 3-year-old girl.

The Memorial and the Governor’s Visit

• A memorial (a place with flowers, signs, and cards to remember someone) for Guerrero was set up on the corner of Hill and Pool streets, less than a block from where he lived.
• By Wednesday, the memorial had grown big and spilled into the street and sidewalk.
• Governor Mills came to see it. She was only there for a few minutes and left quickly.
• But many residents were angry. They said they had asked leaders to stop ICE from working in their state, but felt no one listened.

Important: Mills was largely not welcome at the memorial. People were upset because they felt ignored.

What the Governor Said and Did

Here is what Mills and her team shared:

• Her spokesperson, Anna Parker, said: “The Governor understands and shares the anger and pain many people feel about the death of Mr. Guerrero.”
• Parker said Mills has always asked Congress (the group of people who make federal laws) and the Trump administration to rein in ICE (meaning control or limit them).
• This week, Mills criticized the “reckless and haphazard manner” (careless and messy way) ICE does enforcement in Maine and the country.
• On Wednesday, Mills visited local officials in Biddeford and again asked Congress to reform or abolish ICE.
• After the shooting, Mills said state police were working with federal officials to learn the “facts.”
• Since then, she took a stronger stance. She sent a letter to Maine’s congressional delegation saying ICE must be disbanded (shut down) unless big changes are made.
• Speaking to reporters, she called the situation “devastating” and said: “I wanted to come here and express my condolences to the city, to the community.” She said Congress should act on accountability and training for immigration agents.

How People Reacted

• Some demonstrators told her it was too late—a father had already died.
• One man threw plastic handcuffs at Mills’s SUV as it drove away and said: “That’s another dead body. Don’t come back up here unless you got results!”
• Kelsey Cummings followed Mills to her car holding a sign painted “You ignored us.”
• Cummings and others said elected leaders were absent while ICE detained (arrested) Maine residents in recent weeks—even after ICE claimed it left the state in January.
• Cummings felt it was inevitable (certain to happen) that agents would eventually kill someone. She said: “How could it not? You saw it with Alex Pretti. You saw it with Renee Good.”

Summary

Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, visited a memorial in Biddeford for Mr. Guerrero, a Colombian man killed by an ICE agent. She stayed only a few minutes and was met with anger from residents who felt ignored by leaders. Mills says she shares their pain and has urged Congress to reform or abolish ICE, even sending a letter demanding ICE be disbanded without major changes. But protesters told her it was too late, and some chased her away with signs and thrown handcuffs.

FAQ

1. What is ICE?
ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. They are federal agents who enforce immigration laws, like deporting people who are in the U.S. without permission.

2. Was ICE targeting Mr. Guerrero?
No. The Department of Homeland Security said agents were serving a deportation order at a last known address. Senator King’s office said they were looking for someone else, not Guerrero.

3. Why were people angry at Governor Mills?
They felt elected leaders had not done enough to stop ICE in Maine and had ignored their requests for help, so they were upset she came to the memorial after a death already happened.

4. What does “abolish ICE” mean?
It means to shut down the ICE agency completely. Mills said ICE must be disbanded unless it makes big operational changes.

5. Who was Mr. Guerrero?
He was a man from Colombia who came to the U.S. about 3 years ago, lived in Biddeford, worked multiple jobs, and had a 3-year-old daughter.