US immigration agent fatally shoots driver in Maine

A US immigration officer fatally shot a man identified by rights groups as a 26-year-old Colombian, the second such killing by federal agents in less than a week.

The shooting happened in Biddeford, a town of 22,000 people in the northern state of Maine, and is likely to fuel criticism of US President Donald Trump's deportation drive and its handling by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Initially, Senator Angus King of Maine told reporters he understood, based on a conversation with Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, that the victim was the subject of an ICE arrest warrant over his immigration status.

Yesterday, a spokesperson for Mr King said the senator was told in a second conversation with Mr Mullin that the victim was not the intended target of the warrant.

"The person that was killed was not the person they were seeking," Mr King told CNN.

Mr King demanded a "full, transparent and open investigation," but said the agents involved were apparently not wearing body cameras.

ICE said the agent would be placed on leave in line with protocol after police-involved shootings. The FBI earlier said it was also investigating.

Last week, a man was shot dead by an ICE agent during an attempted vehicle stop in Texas.

Daniel Boucher, 71, was nearby when the incident occurred and told AFP he heard a "lot of pop, pop, pops" before seeing ICE agents pull a person from a white car.

An ICE spokesperson said that officers had tried to stop a vehicle at around 7am local time (12pm Irish time) after conducting surveillance of the last known address of a person with a deportation order.

"The vehicle attempted to flee the scene and fearing for public safety an officer discharged his weapon. The driver of the vehicle was struck, and emergency services were immediately contacted. He passed away from his injuries," they said.

The Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente! Maine, which jointly identified the victim but did not name him, said the man was authorised to work in the United States.

"We will not let this death be reduced to a footnote in this administration's enforcement statistics," said Crystal Cron, executive director of Presente! Maine.

Governor Janet Mills, citing an unconfirmed US news report that the man shot was not the intended target of the ICE operation, said she was "horrified by this tragedy."

"This development makes this tragedy even more disturbing and infuriating, and it underscores the reckless and haphazard manner in which immigration enforcement operations are being conducted in Maine and across the country," she wrote on X.

Images from the scene showed a police cordon in place on a residential street, with a forensics unit stationed next to a red tent. Some people placed candles and flowers on the street nearby.

Protesters rallied in the area with signs reading "ICE Out!" and gathered at the office of Maine's other senator, Susan Collins, a member of Mr Trump's Republican party.

"A person has died, and their loved ones and the people of our community deserve clear answers about what happened," Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain said in a statement.

Tasked with enforcing Mr Trump's immigration crackdown, ICE's agents have faced nationwide backlash for aggressive tactics, and for the shooting deaths of two US citizens this year in Minneapolis.