Lawmakers demand answers after ‘bombshell’ report of shooting of ICE officer in Maine

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democratic members of Congress are demanding answers about Homeland Security vetting and training for immigration enforcement agents after it was revealed that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer involved in a fatal shooting this week in Maine had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior.

David Brouillette, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine, is an Army veteran who has suffered from serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to several close relatives, the Associated Press reported Thursday.

Read more: AP Report: ICE officer in Maine shooting has history of violent behavior, family and records say

The AP reached out to congressional leaders and several key lawmakers from both major political parties for response.

The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said Brouillette’s history of violence, mental health issues and death in Bedford, Maine, “raises direct questions about ICE’s supposed screening and training of its recruits.”

“This senseless tragedy must be investigated and the officer responsible must be taken off our streets and face justice for his actions,” Thompson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

Brouillette did not respond to text messages or an email seeking comment, but three relatives who said they had spoken to him since the shooting, including his ex-wife and daughter, said he told them he acted in self-defense.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who led the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year when Democrats tried to impose restrictions on immigration enforcement operations, said the consequences of failing to put guardrails on ICE are now being measured in lives.

Schumer said in a statement that President Donald Trump’s administration “pushed 12,000 agents onto our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry a badge and a gun — and Republicans have given this rogue agency broad authority and not been held accountable for it.” “They empowered ICE. Now they must work with us to prevent more killings.”

The report on Brouillette’s troubling past comes at a time when the Department of Homeland Security has been on a hiring spree, fueled by huge sums of money from Republicans in Congress to help implement Trump’s mass deportation agenda. It raises new questions about the department’s efforts to quickly recruit, vet, train and field recruits who are sent to patrol communities across America.

Read more: Maine shooting and officer’s background raise new questions about ICE’s rapid hiring

Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, Republican chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, noted her previous statement that “an impartial investigation into the Bedford shooting needs to move forward, because the details surrounding this tragedy are important.”

Collins had previously said it was “very unfortunate” the agent did not have a body-worn camera.

The senator included $20 million to expand the use of body-worn cameras and $2 million for de-escalation training as part of a Homeland Security funding bill approved by Congress to end the department’s shutdown.

“The Democratic government shutdown has delayed the enactment and implementation of these important safety measures,” she said.

Read more: Maine Democrats are criticizing GOP Sen. Susan Collins after the fatal shooting of a motorist in the state

At least 10 people have been killed in confrontations with immigration agents since Trump launched the crackdown after regaining office, including 25-year-old Johan Sebastian Durán Guerrero, a Colombian national who was shot and killed by Brouillette on Monday while in his car near his home in the coastal city of Bedford, Maine.

“This bomb is absolutely horrific — exactly the intolerable danger we feared as a result of detention quotas and inadequate training,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said in a statement to the AP.

“It is clear that this agent should never have had a gun — let alone one that the United States government provided to him,” he said. “And now a man is dead. I will continue to demand answers and accountability.”

He watches: Feds lack credibility, locals need role in ICE shooting investigation, Maine Sen. King says

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., said Trump and his administration have encouraged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Protection “to enter and terrorize our communities, even if those agents are untrained, improperly vetted, or inexperienced.”

“The killing of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero was horrific, and there must be a credible, independent and transparent investigation so those responsible are held accountable,” he said in a statement to the AP.

The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Andrew Garbarino of New York, noted his request earlier in the week that the department brief lawmakers from both parties on ICE’s use of force policies and the status of body camera deployment.