Killing of Johan Sebastian occurred less than a week after Houston shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo
WASHINGTON, DC, JULY 14, 2026—Church World Service today expressed its condolences and a message of mourning and solidarity following another fatal ICE shooting, this time in Biddeford, Maine. The victim, Johan Sebastian, was a 26-year-old Colombian national with work authorization, and media reports assert that he was not the intended target of the ICE enforcement operation.
The incident mirrors last week’s killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, insofar as both cases involve unverified claims of vehicle “weaponization” by the victims and the absence of body camera footage from ICE officers. In Houston, three eyewitnesses disputed the ICE account and in Maine, DHS itself has already backtracked from the similar claim in a recent statement. In response, local elected officials, concerned community members, and members of the faith community have issued a call for an independent investigation, which CWS fully supports.
In response to the killing Rick Santos, President and CEO of Church World Service, issued the following statement:
“As with Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, Alex Pretti, and Renee Good, ICE tactics are causing deaths in American communities. Immigration status should never determine whether someone should live or die, whether they have due process, or are treated as anything less than a fellow human being.
“Both in Maine and in Texas, the administration is trying to justify ICE actions, all in contrast to eyewitness accounts, and without the corroboration of body cameras and officer footage. We join with the Biddeford community in calling for an immediate, independent investigation.
“The administration appears willing to accept loss of life as the cost of doing business in the pursuit of its anti-immigrant agenda, disregarding public safety and civil rights. The constitution protects all people, not just citizens. It falls to our communities and our representatives in Congress to hold ICE accountable.”
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Today, several reports state that ICE is temporarily halting “most” vehicle arrests to provide additional training for enforcement officers. CWS joins the chorus of advocates demanding further accountability from DHS and ICE in response to their campaign of violent, dehumanizing enforcement actions that are terrorizing communities across the United States. CWS has called on the administration to halt its mass deportation campaign that has led to deaths, family and child separations, incarcerations without due process, and deportations of people pursuing legal pathways to asylum and safety.
ICE and CBP have now received approximately $250 billion in funding from Congress, largely to facilitate mass arrests, detentions, and deportations.
CWS continues its call to Congress to ensure substantive guardrails for these agencies, thorough and independent investigations into the recent killings, and ending family detention and warrantless arrests.
Visit CWSglobal.org to learn more about the current State of Play, or TAKE ACTION to hold ICE and CBP accountable. To speak with a CWS expert, contact media@cwsglobal.org.