A Colombian national was fatally shot by a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer during an immigration enforcement operation in the state of Maine, marking the second deadly ICE shooting of a migrant within a week and intensifying criticism of President Donald Trump's increasingly aggressive immigration policies.

The fatal incident occurred early Monday morning in the city of Biddeford, where ICE agents were conducting an operation targeting an individual subject to a final deportation order.

According to ICE, agents attempted to stop a vehicle leaving the address under surveillance at around 7:00 a.m. local time. The agency claimed the driver tried to flee, prompting an officer to open fire after allegedly fearing for public safety.

However, ICE has not provided details explaining why the officer believed lethal force was necessary.

Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey said preliminary information suggests the vehicle moved toward an ICE officer before the driver was shot and killed. The officer involved has been placed on administrative leave while federal authorities investigate the shooting.

The victim's identity has not yet been officially released pending notification of family members, although the Colombian Embassy later confirmed the deceased was a Colombian citizen.

In a statement, the embassy expressed regret over the killing and said it had formally requested clarification from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) regarding the circumstances surrounding what it described as the "lamentable death."

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition identified the victim as a 26-year-old Colombian legally authorized to work in the United States, describing him as "a member of our community, a neighbor, and a human being whose life was cut tragically short."

The shooting quickly sparked protests in Biddeford, where dozens of demonstrators gathered to denounce the operation and what activists describe as increasingly militarized immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

Additional protesters assembled outside the office of Republican Senator Susan Collins, criticizing her support for legislation providing additional funding to ICE.

Collins called for a "full and impartial investigation," while independent Senator Angus King revealed conflicting information from federal officials.

King said Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin initially informed him that the deceased man had been the target of an immigration arrest warrant. Hours later, however, Mullin reportedly acknowledged that the victim was not the intended target of the operation.

The latest shooting comes just days after another fatal ICE operation in Houston, Texas, where Mexican construction worker Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was shot and killed while driving to work.

Federal officials later admitted that Salgado Araujo was also not the intended target of the immigration operation, although they claimed he attempted to strike an ICE officer with his vehicle.

The back-to-back fatal shootings have intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration's immigration strategy, which has dramatically expanded enforcement operations across the United States since President Trump returned to office.

Critics argue that the administration's aggressive deportation campaign has encouraged increasingly confrontational tactics by immigration officers, raising concerns about excessive use of force and inadequate accountability.

Trump has repeatedly pledged to carry out what he describes as the largest deportation campaign in American history, directing federal agencies to intensify immigration raids in communities across the country.

Civil rights organizations contend that these operations have created widespread fear among immigrant communities while increasing the risk of deadly encounters involving individuals who are neither violent offenders nor the intended targets of enforcement actions.

The Department of Homeland Security has faced mounting criticism in recent months following several fatal incidents involving immigration officers.

Former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem's tenure was also marked by controversial enforcement operations before her dismissal earlier this year. Her successor, Markwayne Mullin, has continued overseeing expanded immigration raids as part of the Trump administration's crackdown.

Rights groups have filed lawsuits challenging what they describe as unconstitutional and overly aggressive tactics employed during large-scale ICE operations, including enforcement sweeps such as Operation Catch of the Day launched in Maine earlier this year.

Advocates say the latest fatal shooting underscores the human cost of increasingly hardline immigration policies, renewing calls for greater oversight of ICE, independent investigations into the use of deadly force, and reforms aimed at protecting the rights and lives of migrants living in the United States. (ILKHA)