GERMANY PERSPECTIVE

Berlin, July 15, 2026. Germany is closely following a series of deadly shootings involving the US immigration agency ICE, which occurred just days apart in Maine and Texas. According to Tagesschau, a man was shot and killed on July 13 in Biddeford by an ICE agent who had come to execute a "deportation warrant". It took the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) nearly 12 hours to comment, explaining that the agent had fired "out of concern for public safety" as the suspect attempted to flee in a car.

According to ZEIT Online and Deutsche Welle, the victim is a 26-year-old Colombian who held a work permit and a social security number, according to the organizations Maine Immigrants' Rights Coalition and Presente!. Senator Angus King, cited by Tagesschau and FAZ, notes that the agents involved were not wearing body cameras, making the facts unverifiable independently. Democratic Governor Janet Mills and Biddeford Mayor Liam LaFountain are calling for an independent investigation and "clear answers".

Handelsblatt reports that hundreds of protesters gathered outside an ICE detention center in Scarborough, chanting "these people are murderers" and holding signs that read "Stop the killing". The incident comes just days after a Mexican migrant was killed in Houston, also shot and killed by DHS in self-defense after he allegedly tried to ram an agent. FAZ recalls that in January, federal agents had already killed two American citizens, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, sparking national outrage.

According to ZEIT Online, Mexico has reported that at least 17 of its citizens have been killed in ICE or other US authorities' operations, a figure released by Chancellor Roberto Velasco Álvarez, who announced criminal proceedings. Handelsblatt notes that the US press is now reporting that ICE has suspended most of its traffic stops, a measure that the German press directly links to the growing controversy over these repeated shootings.