On June 5, 2026, Maine Senator Susan Collins voted for the Secure America Act, which gave ICE and the Border Patrol $69.5 billion more, and the same day she voted against an amendment to pay for body cameras on immigration agents. Less than six weeks later, on July 13, 2026, ICE agents shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, in Biddeford, and there appears to be no body camera footage of the shooting.
Collins voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin, the Homeland Security secretary whose agents carried out the Biddeford stop, and Kristi Noem, whose department sent ICE into Portland and Lewiston in January 2026, when immigration lawyers said most of the people arrested had no criminal records.
What It Cost: ICE's 2026 Operations in Biddeford, Portland and Lewiston Under Officials Susan Collins Confirmed
- A killing in Biddeford. On the morning of July 13, 2026, federal immigration agents shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero at the corner of Pool and Hill streets in Biddeford, leaving four bullet holes in his windshield. He left a partner and a 3-year-old daughter. The FBI and the Maine Attorney General's Office are investigating, and the case remains under investigation by the Office of the Maine Attorney General as of August 2026.
- A community in grief. A week after the shooting, a Biddeford neighbor told Spectrum News, "He is one of our neighbors, he is a part of this community, and he was innocent". The city council moved its next meeting to the high school theater to make room for residents.
- Arrests across Maine. Maine has only about 50,000 immigrants, and about half are already citizens, NPR reported when ICE's January 2026 operation arrested more than a hundred people in its first days, mostly in Portland and Lewiston.
- Who was stopped. The person ICE was looking for in Biddeford was Durán Guerrero's roommate, who was not subject to a final removal order, Representative Pingree said at an August 2026 hearing, the Associated Press reported. Durán Guerrero himself had a pending asylum case and a valid work permit.
Susan Collins's Votes and Confirmations Behind ICE's Operations in Maine
- Collins Voted for $69.5 Billion More for ICE and the Border Patrol in June 2026. On June 5, 2026, Susan Collins voted yes on S. 2, the Secure America Act, which passed 52 to 47 and gives ICE and Customs and Border Protection a total of $69.5 billion dollars until September 30, 2029. After the Biddeford killing, about one hundred protestors gathered at Collins's Biddeford office in August 2026 over that vote. At an October 12, 2026 debate Collins herself said "far too many ICE officers were hired and deployed without adequate vetting and training", and the Associated Press reported that the ICE officer involved in the Biddeford shooting had a history of violent behavior and mental health issues.
- Collins Voted Against Body Cameras for Immigration Agents in June 2026. On June 5, 2026, Susan Collins voted no on Senator Alex Padilla's amendment to the Secure America Act to fund the implementation and deployment of body-worn cameras for immigration officers. It failed 46 to 53. When ICE agents killed Durán Guerrero in Biddeford on July 13, Maine Morning Star reported that there appears to be no body camera footage of the shooting, and reporters pieced together what happened from eyewitness accounts, bystanders' videos and a nearby business's security camera.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Markwayne Mullin, Under Whom ICE Agents Killed a Man in Biddeford. On March 23, 2026, Susan Collins voted to confirm Markwayne Mullin as Secretary of Homeland Security, and he was confirmed 54 to 45. On July 13, 2026, ICE agents under Mullin's department shot Durán Guerrero during a vehicle stop in Biddeford. Mullin first told Senator Angus King the man had "weaponized" the vehicle, then said hours later that he had not been the target of the stop. Representative Chellie Pingree said Durán Guerrero had a pending asylum case and a valid work permit. ICE suspended most vehicle stops after the shooting, but President Donald Trump swiftly expressed opposition to that change.
- Collins Voted to Confirm Kristi Noem, Whose Department Sent ICE Into Portland and Lewiston in January 2026. On January 25, 2025, Susan Collins voted to confirm Kristi Noem as Secretary of Homeland Security, and she was confirmed 59 to 34. In January 2026 Noem's department launched an operation in Maine, and the Department of Homeland Security says it has arrested more than a hundred people in Maine since Tuesday, NPR reported on January 24. Immigration lawyers told Maine Public that it was mostly people without criminal records being arrested, and Cumberland County's sheriff said a corrections officer ICE arrested had no criminal record and had legal authorization to work.
- Collins Did Not Say Whether Noem Should Stay While ICE Was Arresting Mainers. On January 27, 2026, during ICE's Maine operation, NOTUS reported that Susan Collins did not respond to direct questions on whether Noem should remain as DHS secretary. Three days earlier, Border Patrol agents in Minneapolis had killed Alex Pretti, a VA nurse who was fatally shot while filming an immigration operation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Susan Collins on ICE in Maine
What is Susan Collins's record on ICE in Maine under Trump?
Susan Collins voted in June 2026 for $69.5 billion more for ICE and the Border Patrol and against an amendment to fund body cameras for immigration agents. She voted to confirm Homeland Security Secretaries Kristi Noem and Markwayne Mullin, under whom ICE arrested more than 100 people in Maine in January 2026 and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford in July 2026 (Maine Morning Star).
Did Susan Collins vote for more ICE funding before the Biddeford shooting?
Yes. Susan Collins voted for the Secure America Act on June 5, 2026, five weeks before ICE agents killed Durán Guerrero in Biddeford. At a protest outside her Biddeford office in August, State Senator Henry Ingwersen said the $70 billion dollar package came without the guardrails Democrats had asked for on vetting, training, body cameras and the use of force involving vehicles.
How did Susan Collins vote on body cameras for ICE agents?
Susan Collins voted on June 5, 2026 against an amendment to set aside money for body-worn cameras for immigration officers, and it failed 46 to 53. Maine Morning Star reported that there appears to be no body camera footage of the Biddeford shooting five weeks later.
What did Susan Collins say about how ICE officers were hired?
Susan Collins said at an October 12, 2026 debate that "far too many ICE officers were hired and deployed without adequate vetting and training". Four months earlier, on June 5, 2026, she had voted for $69.5 billion more for ICE and the Border Patrol.
Last updated: 2026-10-25