Tim Walz Says 'Minnesota Stands with Maine' After ICE Agent Kills 26-Year-Old Colombian Man in Biddeford

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has publicly backed Maine in the aftermath of a fatal ICE shooting, posting on X on Monday evening that 'Minnesota stands with Maine' after an agent shot dead 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Biddeford.

Walz said he had 'spoke with Governor Mills last night to offer my support' following the shooting, which took place at around 7:17am on Monday at the intersection of Pool Street and Hill Street.

Guerrero Was Not the Target, Senator Says

Guerrero, a Colombian national, was killed after federal agents attempted to stop his vehicle while conducting what the Department of Homeland Security described as surveillance on the 'last known address of an illegal alien' with a final order of removal. Witnesses and immigrant-rights groups have disputed DHS's account that Guerrero's vehicle tried to flee before the shooting.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin later told Maine Senator Angus King that Guerrero 'was not the target of the warrant', according to a statement from King's spokesperson.

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine said Guerrero was authorised to work in the United States and had been issued a Social Security number. He is survived by his wife and young daughter.

'This Has To End', Mills Says

Governor Janet Mills reacted sharply once it emerged Guerrero was not the intended subject of the warrant, posting on X on Monday evening.

'This development makes this tragedy even more disturbing and infuriating, and it underscores the reckless and haphazard manner in which immigration enforcement operations are being conducted in Maine and across the country,' Mills said. 'This has to end.'

Her comments followed an earlier, more measured statement in which she said she had been 'briefed on the fatal shooting' and that state police were 'working cooperatively' with the attorney general's office and federal investigators.

A Familiar Pattern for Walz's Minnesota

Walz's intervention carries particular weight given his own state's recent history with fatal ICE encounters.

Minneapolis endured two deadly shootings by federal agents in January, when ICE officer Jonathan Ross killed Renee Good on 7 January, followed weeks later by the fatal shooting of nurse Alex Pretti on 24 January during Operation Metro Surge.

Minnesota prosecutors confirmed on Monday, the same day as the Biddeford shooting, that federal authorities had finally handed over long-withheld evidence in the Good and Pretti cases, including body-camera footage and the vehicle in which Good died. Unlike the Minneapolis cases, the agents involved in the Biddeford shooting were not wearing body cameras.

Advocacy groups have counted at least nine killings by federal agents since the start of Trump's immigration crackdown, underscoring why Walz's message of solidarity resonated beyond Maine's borders.

Hundreds of people gathered for vigils and protests across Biddeford and Portland on Monday evening, with demonstrators calling for ICE to leave the state.

Walz's statement is more than a gesture between two Democratic governors. It signals a coordinated political response building among state leaders who have clashed with federal immigration enforcement this year, and it puts fresh pressure on the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General, who is now investigating the Biddeford shooting alongside Maine's attorney general.

The Department of Homeland Security Inspector General is now investigating the Biddeford shooting alongside Maine's attorney general. The case follows the unresolved Minneapolis shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both still under federal investigation.