Maine Democrats criticize GOP Sen. Susan Collins after fatal ICE shooting of motorist in the state

By — Steve Peoples, Associated Press Steve Peoples, Associated Press Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/maine-democrats-criticize-gop-sen-susan-collins-after-fatal-ice-shooting-of-motorist-in-the-state Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Maine Democrats criticize GOP Sen. Susan Collins after fatal ICE shooting of motorist in the state Politics Jul 14, 2026 7:05 PM EDT NEW YORK (AP) — Maine Democrats are seizing on a new fatal shooting by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in their state, fighting to link Republican Sen. Susan Collins to the embattled federal agency — and to shift the conversation away from the unrelated scandal that threatens to undermine their strength in a high-stakes U.S. Senate race. READ MORE: Many questions remain after an ICE officer's fatal shooting of a Maine driver A federal immigration agent fatally shot a motorist just south of Maine's largest city on Monday, the second time in a week that ICE has used deadly force on American soil and at least the ninth death since President Donald Trump began his immigration crackdown. It was the first for Maine, a Democratic-led state with a relatively large immigrant population that Trump targeted earlier in the year immediately after two high-profile ICE shootings in Minnesota. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. The agents involved in the Maine incident were not using body cameras, and the victim, a 26-year-old Colombian national, was not the target of their probe, officials said. The shooting sparked a swift and aggressive backlash from Democrats, who are still reeling from the sexual assault allegation that forced their party's Senate nominee, Graham Platner, to quit the race late last week. Platner denied the allegation, which many former allies described as credible. Democratic officials are scheduled to select a Platner replacement at a July 25 convention, leaving the party's nominee just a few months to try to unseat a longtime incumbent in a race seen as critical if Democrats are to win back control of the Senate. WATCH: Democrats search for Maine Senate candidate after allegations force Platner out In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, several would-be Collins' challengers descended upon the scene — and her office — to speak out. Senate hopeful Democrat Nirav Shah, the former director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention director, drew a direct link from the shooting to the Republican senator's oversight of ICE's budget as chair the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee. "She's got power, but she didn't use it to rein in a rogue agency, and instead gave them a blank check to kill," Shah said in a press conference outside Collins' office on Tuesday. "It is time to abolish this broken agency. It is time to fire the leadership that has let it run wild. And it is time to retire politi