ICE migrant deaths spark US‑Colombia diplomatic tension

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents were involved in three separate fatal incidents within a week. On July 13, ICE officers shot and killed Colombian national Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during a traffic stop in Biddeford, Maine. The next day, ICE officers shot and killed Mexican worker Lorenzo Salgado Araújo in Houston, Texas. A third fatality occurred on July 14 when Mexican citizen Juan Jairo Coronilla Durán, fleeing an ICE checkpoint in Saint Augustine, Florida, was struck by a truck and died.

Colombian President Gustavo Petro condemned the Maine killing as an aggression against Latin American migrants, while U.S. Senator Angus King noted the Maine victim was not the intended target of the operation. ICE placed the involved agent on administrative suspension and the Department of Homeland Security opened investigations into all three incidents. Hundreds marched in Biddeford and other U.S. cities demanding accountability.

Former Trump‑era ICE border czar Tom Homan later defended the agents, stating the deceased migrants “would be alive today if they had obeyed orders.” He also advocated mandatory body‑camera use for ICE officers. The deaths have heightened diplomatic friction between the United States and Colombia and prompted calls for stricter oversight of immigration enforcement actions.