Another Life Lost. Another Family Torn Apart in Second Fatal ICE Shooting in Less Than a Week

Los Angeles, CA - CARECEN-LA is deeply saddened by the reported death of Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian immigrant, husband, father, and beloved member of his community, who was fatally shot during an ICE enforcement operation in Biddeford, Maine. Reports indicate that his wife and young daughter witnessed the tragedy, a heartbreaking reminder of the profound trauma these enforcement actions inflict on immigrant families.

This marks the second fatal ICE shooting in less than a week, following the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston. As families across the country grapple with fear and uncertainty, these tragedies underscore the devastating human cost of increasingly aggressive immigration enforcement.

"Our hearts are with Joan Sebastian's family, especially his young daughter, who will now grow up without her father," said Martha Arévalo, Executive Director of CARECEN-LA. " Two fatal ICE shootings in less than a week demand more than condolences; they demand accountability. We will continue fighting for policies that protect lives, keep families together, and uphold the dignity, safety, and human rights of every person."

CARECEN-LA calls for a full, transparent, and independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding this shooting and urges elected officials to exercise meaningful oversight of immigration enforcement practices.  No family should have to endure this kind of loss. We stand with Joan Sebastian Guerrero's loved ones and with every community demanding dignity, justice, and accountability.

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CARECEN, the largest Central American immigrant rights organization in the country, empowers Central Americans and all immigrants by defending human and civil rights, working for social and economic justice, and promoting cultural diversity. We envision Los Angeles becoming a place where Central Americans and all other communities live in peace and dignity, enjoying economic well-being, social justice, and political empowerment. Since its founding in 1983, when thousands of Central Americans fled the brutality of civil war, CARECEN has been working to change an unjust immigration system, win legal status for immigrants, and foster community activism on issues such as education reform, workers’ and immigrants’ rights, economic justice, and community strengthening.