Johan Sebastián’s death is a devastating tragedy, felt by his family, the Biddeford community, and all of Maine. It is also not an isolated incident, and it was not an accident. It is the direct and foreseeable result of deliberate federal policy choices, rooted in racism and dehumanization.
Read MoreOn August 17, House Homeland Security Committee Ranking Member Bennie G. Thompson and other Members of the U.S. House of Representatives traveled to Biddeford to join Representative Pingree in an oversight hearing of ICE’s use of force and the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero. ILAP’s Executive Director Sue Roche was called as a witness in the oversight hearing
Read MoreOur hearts are with the family, friends, and loved ones of Johan Sebastián, whose life was taken by ICE as he was on his way to work Monday morning, July 13th.
Read MoreThree new ICE Out of Maine laws took effect today, drawing a clear line between rogue federal agents and the essential places where Mainers live, learn, and heal. These laws will protect Maine communities and ensure that local officials and resources are never used to support dangerous and chaotic federal immigration operations…
Read More“The ICE Out laws are a necessary and key part of Maine’s response to the federal administration,” Roche said. “They are needed to protect all of us, and to begin to repair some of the trust in Maine’s public institutions where the trust has been lost.”
Read MoreSue Roche, executive director of the Immigration Legal Advocacy Project, noted that ICE agents are federal agents, but the new laws can still govern how Mainers interact with them.
Read MoreSue Roche, with the Immigrant Legal Advocacy Project, said at a virtual press conference Tuesday the laws are a bulwark against federal policy. "While Maine cannot completely bar ICE from our state because that agency is under federal jurisdiction," Roche said, "we can and we must maximize the tools and protections that we have available to us at the state and local level."
Read MoreSue Roche, executive director for ILAP, said her organization was aware of more than 50 incidents in 2025 in which state and local police called immigration officials, resulting in arrests.
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