NYT reports ICE officer who killed Colombian man in Maine wrote anti-immigrant emails
The 2021 emails are about his sister's Colombian partner, and state and federal investigations into the July shooting are pending.
The New York Times reported on Wednesday, Nov. 11, that David Brouillette, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who fatally shot a Colombian-born man in Maine, wrote anti-immigrant emails in 2021. Rookie officer Brouillette shot Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, 25, in Biddeford on July 13 while attempting a traffic stop. In the emails, Brouillette attacked his sister over her relationship with a Colombian man, a graduate student living in the US legally.
He wrote that the man's "bloodline knows nothing" about earning American freedom. His sister, Elizabeth Emen, shared the emails with the Times. She says Brouillette had no basis for calling her partner undocumented.
The Department of says the officer fired, fearing for public safety, after the vehicle tried to escape. No evidence confirming that has emerged. DHS first said Durán Guerrero entered the country illegally, then recanted, and a lawyer for his family says he was authorized to work in the US.
The lawyer says he was shot four times in the face and neck. State and federal investigations are pending. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a Maine Democrat, said sent Brouillette into communities before his background check was reviewed.
Democrats on Homeland Security Committee say they will investigate who approved the hire.
- four timesshots to Durán Guerrero's face and neck, according to his family's lawyerThe Boston Globe
Three sides of the story
8 news outlets reported this · Little coverage from conservative outlets
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Liberal5 outlets
The officer's record and ICE's hiring standards
The Boston Globe ran The New York Times report on the emails under the headline "ICE officer involved in Maine shooting expressed hatred of immigrants." It describes Brouillette as a rookie with domestic violence complaints, mental health issues and false statements in court filings. It says, citing a person with knowledge of his hiring, that he was fast-tracked through a preliminary vetting process as ICE added thousands of new officers.
It quotes his mother, Susan Bedard: "He is dangerous and should not have weapons." DHS is quoted saying claims of substandard training or vetting are "FALSE." The New Republic, headlined "ICE Agent Who Killed Immigrant Is Super Racist, His Family Reveals," centers on the 2021 emails and on Emen's words: "It was about how he saw him based on his race."
It adds that ICE "quietly admitted" it had a warrant for a different person. The New York Times reports that, in emails it obtained, the officer wrote about foreign bloodlines and attacked noncitizens, and that investigators are still examining his July shooting of a man born in Colombia.
- The Boston Globe: ICE officer involved in Maine shooting expressed hatred of immigrants
- The New Republic: ICE Agent Who Killed Immigrant Is Super Racist, His Family Reveals
Center3 outlets
A new Times report and the political reaction
UPI frames the story as a follow-up to a New York Times report, headlined "Report: ICE officer who killed man in Maine had lengthy history of hatred." It quotes parts of the 2021 email thread and Emen's statement that her partner was judged "based on his race." It then turns to reaction.
Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, says Guerrero "should be alive today" and that ICE sent Brouillette out before his background check was reviewed. Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee say they will investigate who approved the hire. UPI reports that DHS says the vehicle "attempted to flee" and that the department has not provided evidence.
It adds that DHS first said Guerrero entered the country illegally, then recanted, according to the Times. It closes with White House Tom Homan saying after the July shooting that ICE's vetting process was under review.
Conservative0 outlets
Outlets on the right gave the story little coverage.
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All sources: 8 articles from 8 outlets
Liberal (5)
- La Opinión: Agente de ICE que mató a colombiano en Maine tenía correos racistas contra inmigrantes
- MS NOW: Sister of ICE officer who fatally shot migrant in Maine shares ‘relevant’ past emails
- The Boston Globe: ICE officer involved in Maine shooting expressed hatred of immigrants
- The New Republic: ICE Agent Who Killed Immigrant Is Super Racist, His Family Reveals
Center (3)
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