Colombian Man Shot Dead By ICE in Maine, Sparking Outrage
Your Daily Update for July 14, 2026. Plus: A Colombian immigrant was shot dead in his car by ICE in Maine less than a week after another fatal shooting in Houston.
Welcome to today’s daily update for Tuesday, July 14, 2026. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Breakdown
Two ICE shootings have taken place in quick succession, once again sparking outrage against the division’s controversial profiling and targeting of immigrants.
Last week, a Mexican man by the name of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo was shot in Houston, Texas by ICE officers. He had worked as an undocumented immigrant in the United States for more than 35 years, but his family confirmed that he had contributed heavily to the local economy and achieved his dream of running his own construction crew after building hundreds of homes in the Houston suburbs. Salgado was also working with lawyers to obtain a legal work permit, which he was just one step away from receiving before his death.
“[He was] a simple man of routine who dedicated his life to giving his family the American dream… That's how I want the world to know my father. Not as someone who got shot and killed, but as a family man, a man who understood that good things come to those who put in hard work.”
"I'll keep fighting for him.”
Ronaldo Salgado, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo’s oldest son
According to authorities, Salgado was not the intended target of the operation – rather, the ICE agents stopped him and tried to arrest him because his white van looked like that of a different man who the officers were pursuing. However, government officials later claimed that Salgado used his car as a weapon, hitting an ICE vehicle before attempting to run over an officer.
Salgado was subsequently shot, but the other three men inside the car remained alive. They have vehemently denied the government’s assertions, arguing that Salgado took no such action. Footage of the incident depicts two ICE vehicles in pursuit of Salgado’s van, which pulls over to the side of the highway after turning 180 degrees. However, video of the actual shots being fired has not been released. An investigation into the incident is underway.
Then, simmering tensions exploded into full-on anger when another man – who had legally obtained a permit to reside in the United States – was shot dead by an ICE officer in Biddeford, Maine yesterday.
The man, identified as 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, was of Colombian origin and had immigrated legally to the United States as an asylum seeker. He had a Social Security number, an official Employment Authorization Document (EAD), and was employed at the time of his death.
Footage captured by bystanders shows the victim in a white car, circling around as an ICE officer in plain clothes and a vest chases the vehicle. Witnesses reported hearing somewhere between five and seven gunshots before the car came to a halt – officers quickly opened the door, leaving Guerrero to tumble out of the driver’s seat.
The government is currently conducting an investigation into the incident, but the details remain unclear. A statement from the Department of Homeland Security asserted that the man had attempted to “flee the scene,” forcing the officer to fire out of fear for “public safety.” They confirmed that the ICE officers had been searching for a man who was residing in the area illegally, and he had received an arrest warrant threatening him to leave the country.
A separate statement also claimed that he “weaponized his vehicle” in an attempt to threaten the ICE officer; citizens pointed out that this is yet another example of the department using the same excuse to justify the killing of dozens of innocent people.
Then, hours later, local government officials contradicted the statement, claiming that ICE had been searching for someone else and had targeted Guerrero by mistake – exactly the same claim made by officials in last week’s fatal shooting.
The actual details of the incident are still under investigation, but none of the ICE officers were wearing body cameras – an increasingly common occurrence among members of the division – making the situation more complex.
In the meantime, protests across the nation are ramping up. Vigils have been held in Houston, Biddeford, and other cities across the nation for the two immigrants, and demonstrations against ICE have picked up significantly as outrage over the two shootings spreads further.
“… more than anything else, I want to know 'why are you in Maine?' Every report we hear is about somebody being picked up who was legally here and is this going to be another one of those stories.
We will wait for the answers and we will be asking a lot of questions. My sympathy to the individual and their family and to the entire community of Biddeford and for all of us in Maine. We will be mourning yet another victim.”
— Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree (D)
The Global Snapshot
The US and Iran are officially back at war. After several days of strikes, Trump has confirmed that the conflict has been renewed and the ceasefire is over – sanctions have been reimposed, and oil prices have jumped through the roof. The president also claimed that the US would begin charging tolls in the Strait of Hormuz, despite previous assertions that Iran’s threats to do so would be illegal. Additionally, the administration has not explained their next steps to attempt to wind down tensions, once again raising fears of a prolonged conflict.
Meanwhile, tensions between Saudi Arabia and Yemen are escalating after the Houthis conducted several strikes on the desert nation. Yemen claims that their missile and drone attacks, which targeted Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport, were in retaliation for Saudi Arabian strikes that hit an airport of their own. Saudi Arabia has not taken responsibility for those attacks, but fears of yet another war in the Middle East are rising in the international community.
Serious heat continues to plague western Europe, providing little relief for communities that have spent the last month baking in scorching temperatures. A cooldown is finally expected later this week, but wildfires are raging across Spain and France. In particular, one fire is burning through France’s historic Fontainebleau Forest, one of the last standing ancient forests in the region. Hundreds have been evacuated, and over 700 firefighters are actively working to combat the blaze.
Fact of the Day (The Fact Site): The average temperature of a beehive is the same as a human body – bees in a colony flap their wings to regulate the heat of the hive and maintain an optimal temperature for baby bees to grow.
Quote of the Day (Gracious Quotes): The wise man does at once what the fool does finally. (Baltasar Gracián)
Word of the Day (Merriam-Webster): Implacable (adj, im-PLAK-uh-bul) - Someone or something described as implacable is not capable of being appeased or changed.
In a Sentence: The project faced implacable resistance from community members, and is now off the table.
Image: Courier News / Facebook