The heartbroken wife of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, who was fatally shot by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Biddeford, Maine, spoke out about her late husband, calling him a devoted husband and father to their 3-year-old daughter.
Reflections on a Life Cut Short
Occasionally choked up, Karolina Rojas Alvarez described her late husband as responsible, hard-working, and deeply caring of his family, whom he gave anything they wanted. “He gave me more than I ever dreamed of. I will never have the words to express what a marvelous, loving man God gave me,” Rojas said through a translator.
The day of Durán’s death was supposed to be a father-daughter day, Rojas said. “Now, my daughter asks for papá, and I don’t have the strength to tell her that papá isn’t coming, that she can’t hug him anymore or tell him, ‘Papi, I love you,'” she said.
A lawyer for the family noted that Durán hadn’t been accused of a crime and was following a lawful process for being in the United States, having been issued a work permit by the Trump administration. He had a Social Security card as well, according to the lawyer.
“Johan Sebastián was the victim of policies and a culture of our federal government that treat deaths, like this, of innocent persons as a necessary cost of doing business — in other words, as collateral damage,” said the lawyer, Benjamin Gideon.
Immigrant rights groups had previously said that Durán was legally authorized to work in the U.S. In a statement, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed that he received work authorization in May 2025, though they emphasized that work authorization doesn’t bring legal status.
The DHS representative said he entered the U.S. illegally in September 2023 and was released into the country by the Biden administration. They didn’t share more details, including whether Durán had an ongoing immigration case.
An ICE spokesperson shared a statement on the incident, stating that ICE was conducting targeted surveillance on the last known address of an illegal immigrant with a final order of removal. An illegal immigrant departed the residence in a vehicle. ICE law enforcement attempted to conduct a vehicle stop. 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 passed away from his injuries. The Biddeford Police Department and FBI responded to the scene. DHS has been notified, and the incident will be investigated.
Original reporting: NBC10 Boston — read the source article.
