ICE Went 'Quieter' — Then Killed a Father in Maine. How Watch Groups Are Adapting

Outside the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office in Scarborough, Maine, the scene often looks more like a peaceful wildlife vigil than a protest: volunteers in lawn chairs beneath a canopy, bird song, and the wind in the trees.

What ICE-Watching Looks Like in Maine

When four Cadillac Escalades roar into the facility parking lot on an August afternoon, observers leap into action with binoculars and clipboards. Some call out license-plate numbers and vehicle makes and models while others jot down details. Volunteers log arrivals for routine appointments and note people who go in and never come back out. This quiet, patient work — known as ICE-watching — documents unmarked government vehicles and detainments and alerts communities to public enforcement activity.

Why Observers Re-Emerged

ICE-watching is a long-standing, constitutionally protected practice that surged again after last year’s uptick in on-the-ground enforcement. In January, the Trump administration launched Operation Catch of the Day, an intense enforcement initiative tied to Maine’s $600 million fishing industry. In three days, roughly 100 people were arrested across the state; many had no criminal records and were legally present in the U.S. Witnesses reported agents smashing car windows, abandoning vehicles, and detaining parents as children watched from porches.

The Turning Point: A Killing in Biddeford

In July, an ICE agent shot and killed 25-year-old father Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during a traffic stop in Biddeford, about 15 minutes from Scarborough. The killing followed other fatal enforcement encounters elsewhere and shattered any illusion of a "softer touch." Organizers' hotlines received a surge of reports in the week after Durán’s death, and community outrage reignited protests and demands for investigations.

Organizing, Hotlines and Legal Responses

Local organizations had already been strengthening networks. The Maine Immigrant Rights Coalition (MIRC) built a roster of roughly 100 trained volunteers, many coordinated via encrypted apps like Signal and able to communicate in Somali, Haitian Creole, Arabic and other languages. Presente! Maine has provided about $200,000 in bond funds monthly to help detained immigrants. In May, MIRC and Presente! launched Lighthouse ME, an online immigrant-defense hub that maps ICE arrest data and sightings.

The ACLU of Maine opened a hotline to report First Amendment violations and joined observers and residents in a federal class-action lawsuit after reports that agents followed observers home, fired pepper balls at cars, and warned people they would be labeled "domestic terrorists." As Zach Heiden, chief counsel at ACLU of Maine, said: "The constitution guarantees your right to observe and record law enforcement agents when they're doing their job in public."

Policy Wins and Continued Demands

Thirteen days after Durán’s killing, three "ICE Out" measures took effect in Maine, limiting cooperation between ICE and local police, landlords, schools and some state health facilities. Organizers note, however, that these measures would not have prevented Durán’s death and call for deeper reforms. Activists are planning a 70-mile (113 km) march from Senator Susan Collins' Biddeford office to the state capital to protest federal ICE funding.

Daily Life And Ongoing Vigilance

Observers at the Scarborough facility report seeing an average of two detentions a day: people brought in shackled and others who arrive for appointments and never come out, leaving behind abandoned cars. Volunteers also offer immediate assistance to confused family members when they can — for example, helping a wife with a nine-month-old child when her husband was arrested during a routine appointment.

"People are trying the best they can — learning and utilizing new skills, and responding to crises in community — and then there's another one," said Crystal Cron, co-founder and executive director of Presente! Maine.

Despite fatigue and limited resources, volunteers, organizers and legal advocates in Maine say they will continue documenting enforcement, supporting immigrant families and pressing for accountability.