PORTLAND — A large crowd gathered in Monument Square on Tuesday evening to protest the fatal shooting of a Colombian man by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent in Biddeford on Monday.
Ideal Maine Social Aid and Sanctuary Band served as the opening act, as they have at so many demonstrations here before.
But Tuesday’s protest struck a different tone than the various demonstrations held in Monument Square since ICE’s surge in operations in Maine in late January.
The people in the square on Tuesday were demanding justice and that ICE get out of Maine. They grew more adamant in every chant.
The Portland rally kicked off at 6 p.m. Tuesday, less than 36 hours after 26-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero was shot and killed by an ICE agent while he was in his car. Members of Maine’s congressional delegation said ICE officials confirmed there was no warrant for Guerrero’s arrest and that he was not the intended target of the agents’ action Monday morning.
About 100 people lined Monument Square as things formally got underway with an “ICE Out Now” chant. Within minutes the crowd doubled, and more demonstrators continued trickling in.
An hour later, hundreds of people marched the streets of downtown Portland and into the Old Port, making a stop near Sen. Susan Collins’ office.
Gathered in Monument Square, the protesters held signs “From Houston to Maine ICE Out!” “Full And Equal Rights For All Immigrants” and “Stop ICE Terror” and hoisted them higher as they chanted their demands: “Defund ICE” “Abolish ICE” “No more ICE.”
Organizers of the protest, who led chants in between scheduled speakers, said multiple Democratic Senate candidates offered to speak, but they felt it was best for local voices to be heard on Tuesday. That included grassroots organizers, elected officials, and candidates for local offices this November.
Shukri Abdirahman, an Androscoggin County Commissioner representing part of Lewiston, got some of the loudest cheers of the evening.
“If we want this injustice to end, it’s up to us to end it,” she said.
She acknowledged that many Mainers are afraid, but that means “every one of us has a responsibility to speak up.”
“We cannot allow fear to define who we are; we cannot allow people to be dehumanized because of where they are born or what language they speak,” Abdirahman said.
“Justice is not something we ask for only when its convenient. Justice is something we defend for everyone.”
Protesters began a march to Collins’ office just before 7 p.m., chanting “Hey hey, ho ho, Susan Collins has got to go.”
The sea of demonstrators walked down Congress Street past City Hall, took a right down Pearl Street, and looped back via Middle Street. Organizers with bright orange vests led the way, blocking off streets to allow protesters to pass. They stopped briefly outside the senator’s office at 1 Canal Plaza for some chanting.
Then, the group headed down Union Street to the Old Port. From there, they took a right onto Commercial Street.
Stuck motorists honked all the while, many in rhythm with the demonstrators’ chanting.
The demonstrators eventually took a left down to the Portland Fish Pier for some closing remarks before the crowd began to disperse around 7:30 p.m.
Protests broke out in Biddeford on Monday as news of the killing quickly spread through Maine and the nation. The day of protest in Biddeford was capped by an evening vigil, while rallies and vigils were also held elsewhere across the state on Monday and Tuesday.