One witness told the Biddeford Gazette, external that around 07:20 local time, he saw lights flashing from an unmarked white SUV, and “at least two officers wearing green ICE vests”.
Lucas Scott, a Biddeford resident, said the agents were yelling loudly as they surrounded a white sedan. He then heard at least four gunshots.
Another witness told the Associated Press (AP), external news agency that the man who was killed lived nearby with his wife and daughter.
“I watched a wife fall to her knees looking at her husband’s dead body on the ground,” Mary Hayes said.
“I watched a little girl crying with a little pink backpack on because she’s never going to see her father again.”
Maine Senator Angus King said that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin had told him that the man was shot after attempting to drive his car at police.
“He was in a vehicle — pulled out in the vehicle, and the term the secretary used was ‘weaponized’ the vehicle and was shot by an ICE agent,” King said.
He added that officers involved did not wear body cameras, and that officials will be investigating whether deadly force was necessary.
“That’s what this investigation is all about and I certainly intend to stay after it to do everything I can to be sure the investigation is as transparent and thorough as possible,” King said, according to the AP.
The incident on Monday draws renewed scrutiny on the DHS – which oversees ICE – and it’s leadership by Mullin.
Mullins took over the role in March, replacing Kristi Noem after she was fired by the US president.
Noem’s departure followed a similar string of cases in which encounters involving immigration officers ended with the deaths of American citizens, including Alex Pretti and Renee Good.
The deaths of Pretti and Good came after the Trump administration announced immigration enforcement surges in Minnesota and other states.
Federal officials launched a similar operation in Maine, in January, dubbed Operation Catch of the Day.
Multiple civil rights organisations filed a lawsuit against the administration for immigration officers’ aggressive tactics during enforcement surges.
