Like so many of you, we are heartbroken and grieving. And in our grief, we are unwavering in our determination and commitment to stand by our values and our communities. Maine Initiatives condemns the murder of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian father, husband, and community member, who was killed by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in Biddeford on the morning of July 13, 2026. We extend our deepest condolences to Johan’s family, friends, and community members.  Johan’s murder is the second fatal shooting by a federal officer within a week, as ICE continues to terrorize communities across the country, including here in Maine. State-sanctioned violence targeting immigrants of color has destabilized entire communities from Houston to Biddeford to Minneapolis and beyond. Maine Initiatives has made advancing racial justice and immigrant rights key pillars of our work for more than a decade. Through the Immigrant-Led Organizations Fund and as the home of the Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative, we are mobilizing people and resources to support immigrant communities and immigrant flourishing here in Maine. To this end:   We demand accountability. We are calling on the Maine Attorney General’s office to abide by the rule of law and pursue a prompt and transparent investigation to ensure those responsible are held fully accountable. We invite others to do the same by signing this petition or contacting Maine’s Congressional Delegation. We reject the violent, reckless, and dehumanizing federal immigration enforcement tactics. We call for the implementation of the ICE Out of Maine laws that protect all of us and actually keep our communities safe. We will continue to move in solidarity with immigrant-led and -serving organizations in Maine. We are actively coordinating with our peer organizations in the Immigrant and Refugee Funders Collaborative and will be mobilizing resources to support organizations that are protecting and caring for immigrants in Maine. We stand with Johan’s loved ones, frontline organizers, and every community impacted by immigration enforcement. Click here to support the Durán Guerrero family and consider donating to the Maine Solidarity Fund to continue supporting our unfairly detained neighbors and their families in Maine. 

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