Four Democratic candidates competing for a U.S. Senate seat in Maine joined hundreds of protesters this week after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents fatally shot a man in Biddeford, a city about 15 miles southwest of Portland.
The shooting occurred Monday during an ICE enforcement operation. According to Fox News, the Maine attorney general's office, which is investigating the incident alongside the FBI, said initial statements suggest the man who was killed was attempting to flee in the direction of an ICE agent. Two immigration advocacy groups said the man was authorized to work in the United States and held a Social Security number.
The incident set off immediate political responses from candidates vying to replace Graham Platner, who exited the Democratic Senate race three days before the shooting amid allegations of sexual misconduct that he repeatedly denied and widespread calls from state party leaders for him to step down.
Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, addressed the situation directly. "I think we are at the point where ICE needs to be abolished," he told Fox News Digital. "ICE in its current form has shown itself incapable of doing its job."
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows spoke to reporters at the scene. "This is not acceptable in America. A young man, a dad, has been killed by ICE...This must stop. We need to get ICE out of the streets," she said.
Troy Jackson, a former state Senate president, posted on social media immediately after the shooting. He wrote simply, "Abolish ICE." Jackson carried a sign at the protest calling for the agency's dismantling and said he had been advocating that position for months.
Paige Loud, a social worker and former congressional candidate who has also entered the Senate race, attended the protest and posted on social media. "We must abolish ICE and prosecute the leaders of these operations that are destroying communities," she wrote.
The Biddeford shooting is the second time in one week that ICE agents used deadly force. The prior incident occurred during a traffic stop in Houston, Texas. Both shootings follow the deaths earlier this year of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which drew weeks of national attention and sharp debate over the Trump administration's deportation policies.
The Maine Senate race carries national significance. Analysts consider it a potential factor in which party controls the Senate majority, and immigration is now positioned as a central issue in the contest. The race to replace Platner is ongoing, with no Democratic nominee yet selected.
