Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) on Thursday announced that all Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers in Maine have been outfitted with body cameras following a fatal shooting in the state last month.
“I am pleased to announce that as of today at 2pm, all ICE enforcement officers in Maine have been equipped with body-worn cameras and trained in their use,” Collins posted on X.
Collins has pushed for ICE reforms following a fatal shooting in Biddeford, Maine, in July. Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian national, was shot and killed by an ICE officer after he allegedly drove his vehicle toward officers. Guerrero was not the target of the arrest.
In her announcement, Collins said she spoke with acting ICE Director David Venturella after the incident about implementing body cameras across the agency.
“When I spoke with ICE Acting Director Venturella last month, he committed to deliver body-worn cameras to ICE agents across the country by the end of August,” she said. “I urged him to prioritize Maine, and they have arrived more than two weeks ahead of schedule.”
Collins’s announcement was quickly met with backlash from her general election challenger, Democrat Troy Jackson, who is hoping to unseat the incumbent in the midterm elections. Jackson has often gone after Collins for voting in favor of legislation regarding ICE.
“In June, Susan Collins voted AGAINST requiring ICE agents to wear body cameras. Then she gave them $70 BILLION with no strings attached. Now she expects us to thank her for body cams?” Jackson responded to Collins’s post. “Mainers can see through her PR stunt.”
Collins voted along party lines in June for a nearly $70 billion bill providing additional funding for immigration enforcement over three years, with most money going to ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The legislation did not include a measure introduced by Democrats that required agents to wear body cameras, but Collins had separately supported funding for body cameras.
THESE STATES WILL MAKE OR BREAK A SENATE MAJORITY IN NOVEMBER
However, in April, Collins voted to approve $20 million in funding for body cameras as part of a Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, which also included $2 million intended for de-escalation training.
Following the shooting, Collins’s past votes to approve funding for ICE became the subject of protests in Maine. Anti-ICE protesters stormed Collins’s office in Biddeford, chanting “vote her out,” and her past votes were targeted in protesters’ slogans when they entered her office.