For Immediate Release, July 15, 2026
Contacts:
Mufalo Chitam, Executive Director, MIRC
Crystal Cron, Executive Director, Presente! Maine
Hamdia Ahmed, Executive Director, Project Relief ME
Portland, ME — The Maine Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, Presente! Maine, and Project Relief are saddened. For the third time this week, ICE is directly involved in the death of a neighbor. We are exhausted as we again mourn a preventable, senseless, and all too predictable death. A family and the community in St Augustine, Florida, are experiencing the trauma that Biddeford, Houston, Minneapolis, and communities across America know all too well.
“It is another devastating day for our community,” said Presente! Executive Director Crystal Cron. “Even as we are reeling from the murder of our brother Johan, we learn of another preventable tragedy. Another death by state violence. Another family grieving a loss that should never have happened. ICE must be abolished. There is no ‘reform’ or ‘retraining’ sufficient, no betterment possible for this heinous institution.”
“Everyone deserves to return home safely to the people who love them,” said Project Relief ME Executive Director Hamdia Ahmed. “Instead, families are forced to live with the fear that an encounter with ICE could end in detention, injury, or death. We hold this man’s loved ones and the St. Augustine community in our hearts. We cannot allow this fear and loss to become normal.”
“Our communities are in mourning,” said MIRC Executive Director Mufalo Chitam. “Three deaths in one week cannot be dismissed as isolated tragedies. They reflect the human cost of an immigration enforcement system operating without transparency or accountability. But, mourning cannot be our only response. Our elected officials must act before another family is forced to endure this avoidable grief.”
The moment once again calls for an independent investigation. ICE must not be allowed to investigate itself or control the public narrative surrounding a death in which its personnel or operations were involved. We also call on elected officials to invest in a fair, functional, and humane immigration system, not further expansion of
immigration enforcement, and to strengthen protections that prevent local resources from being diverted toward federal immigration enforcement.
While information continues to develop, we strongly encourage community members to exercise caution and care for their neighbors and themselves. We will continue supporting impacted community members, demanding answers, and sharing verified information as it becomes available.