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.
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.
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.
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 politicians like Susan Collins who have made this lawlessness possible."
Collins is in Washington this week for Senate business.
Phoebe Keller, a spokesperson for the Senate Appropriations Committee, said Collins worked to secure specific ICE “protections” in the federal spending bill signed into law at the end of April. They included $20 million for body cameras, $2 million for deescalation training and $20 million more for increased oversight of detention facilities.
At the time, Senate Democrats were demanding a series of reforms that would have required ICE agents to wear body cameras, restricted the use of face masks and banned enforcement actions near sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and courthouses.
The Republican-controlled Senate ultimately rejected the reforms.
“While the investigation of the Biddeford shooting is not yet complete, it raises sufficient critical questions that I spoke with DHS Secretary Mullin last night and urged him to cease all non-urgent vehicle stops," Collins said in a brief statement Tuesday.
The ICE shooting and the immediate backlash in a state Trump lost by 7 points suggests that Collins may have only begun to answer tough questions about the situation and her role in funding the agency.
Democrats, who acknowledged that the Platner scandal likely makes their fight to defeat Collins more difficult, were nonetheless hopeful that the shooting will shift the conversation back to Collins' record. The Republican has represented the state in the Senate since 1997 and regularly touts her power as the Appropriations Committee chair as a reason to keep her in the Senate for another six years.
“This tragedy refocuses the conversation from Platner fallout to the real world impact of Susan Collins voting to give ICE tens of billions of dollars with zero reforms,” said Democratic strategist Josh Schwerin. "The impact will be real.”
Earlier this month, an ICE agent fatally shot a man in Houston after he attempted to evade arrest in his vehicle during an operation. In January, two people were shot and killed by federal officers within days of each other in Minnesota.
About 6 in 10 U.S. adults said earlier this year that Trump has “gone too far” in sending federal immigration agents into American cities, according to an AP-NORC poll. The poll suggested political independents were increasingly uncomfortable with Trump's tactics.
On Tuesday, the shooting dominated the political conversation on the ground in Maine.
The day after a vigil turned out hundreds in Portland, a group of several dozen protestors gathered near an ICE facility in Scarborough and condemned Collins for supporting legislation to expand funding for ICE. Protesters waved signs stating “Stop the murder” and “End this terror.”
“Does anyone here feel safer because this man was shot in cold blood?” said Kelli Brennan, co-president of the Maine State Nurses Association. “Does the senseless murder of this man make any of our lives better in any way?”
Former Maine Senate leader and logger by trade, Troy Jackson, now a candidate to replace Platner, declared “ICE out” at the Portland vigil and held an “Abolish ICE” sign at a protest outside Collins' office on Monday.
“Immigrant communities are living under constant threat from an agency that operates with cruelty and impunity,” Jackson said during an online progressive organizing meeting Monday night. “We need accountability and leaders who believe every person deserves dignity, safety and due process.”
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey, who was also in the organizing meeting, called the shooting “murder” and said “we must abolish ICE now.”
“This is the second person ICE has killed in less than a week, the latest attack from Trump’s masked, unaccountable thugs,” Markey said, noting he voted against the creation of ICE in 2003.
Less than a week after Platner's exit, however, he is still a part of the conversation — even if he is not the focus anymore.
“You poured your hearts, your time, and your energy into building this movement alongside another candidate than me. And I know that there’s real pain, anger, and disappointment. And I’m not going to try and minimize that,” Jackson said. “But look, this movement has always been bigger than one person."
He continued: "We can defeat Susan Collins and elect a senator who will never forget what side they’re on.”
AP writers Matt Brown in Washington and Bill Barrow in Atlanta contributed.
Dr. Nirav Shah, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, attends a protest outside a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Scarborough, Maine, one day after the shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) CORRECTION: Corrects ID to Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero NOT Joan Sebastian Guerrero
Protesters gather near a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility Scarborough, Maine, one day after the shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty) CORRECTION: Corrects ID to Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero NOT Joan Sebastian Guerrero
Dr. Nirav Shah, Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks to reporters outside an office for Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, a day after a shooting involving U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 in Biddeford, Maine. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Spain’s defensive prowess and swagger were just too much for an attacking trio led by France great Kylian Mbappé, and just enough to get the 2010 champions into another World Cup final.
The Spanish team managed a sixth shutout in seven games so far, winning 2-0 in the semifinals Tuesday against one of the most prolific scorers in World Cup history.
Teenager Lamine Yamal certainly was correct when he said France should fear Spain. That despite FIFA's top-ranked team being led by Mbappé — their captain with 20 goals in his 20 World Cup games before the semifinals — Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, who has a tournament-high five assists.
“They were facing the best team in the world,” Spain coach Luis de la Fuente said of his players.
Mikel Oyarzabal scored from the penalty spot after a heady play by Yamal drew a foul, and Pedro Porro added another goal to put Spain in its second World Cup final.
A day after his 19th birthday, Yamal was denied a goal on a close offside call that came soon after Porro's give-and-go with Dani Olmo in the 58th minute had put Spain up 2-0. But it was Yamal's smart play against a veteran defender that gave Spain the early lead.
Spain will face either defending champion Argentina or England on Sunday in East Rutherford, New Jersey, across the river from New York City.
“So difficult to get to this moment, but we want more," Spain midfielder Rodri said. “We want to win this World Cup.”
After trying to become only the third team to reach three consecutive World Cup finals, France instead will play in the third-place game in Miami Gardens, Florida, on Saturday.
“Spain has been able to defend well,” departing France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator. “They’ve closed out all the spaces and also we’ve made some technical mistakes. So it is difficult to create problems when the technical level is below standard.”
Argentina and England play Wednesday in Atlanta in the second powerhouse semifinal match.
This win on soccer’s biggest stage marked the third summer in a row that Spain beat France in a tournament semifinal match. Yamal scored in a 2-1 win in the 2024 European Championship semifinals just days before his 17th birthday, and La Roja won 5-4 in Nations League play last year.
Yamal was quick to point out that France should be concerned after Spain's quarterfinal win over Belgium set up another semifinal matchup.
"It’s a team who loves to have control of the game, control of the ball. That’s what we let them do," said Mbappé, who got none of his three shots on target. “It’s difficult when you don’t change the play of Spain.”
Spain has outscored opponents 12-1 since a scoreless draw against surprising Cape Verde to open group play. The lone goal allowed by goalkeeper Unai Simón was in the quarterfinal game against Belgium that snapped his World Cup record of 650 scoreless minutes.
This World Cup run has extended Spain's unbeaten streak in regular time to 37 matches (28 wins and nine draws) since March 2024. That broke the country’s previous record of 35 in a row from 2007-09.
The loss broke France’s record-matching streak of six consecutive World Cup wins, which the team also accomplished in the 2018 and 2022 tournaments.
Oyarzabal’s penalty kick in the 22nd minute came after Yamal drew a foul when kicked by defender Lucas Digne.
After a poor first touch with his head, Digne was trying to clear the ball when Yamal raced in from behind to challenge in the penalty area. The ball hit off the elbow of the leaping teen before he was kicked by Digne, playing in his 63rd game for France only six days before his 33rd birthday.
Oyarzabal’s fifth goal of this year’s World Cup marked the first time either team had trailed in their seven games in this tournament. It was his 30th goal in 60 international games for Spain.
For the second goal, Porro broke free and received a pass back from Olmo, who got the touch just before getting knocked off his feet by defender Dayot Upamecano.
“We knew that we’re a very tough team, we’re doing things really well," Porro said.
France allowed only two goals in its first six games in this tournament.
Spain had two other real scoring chances in the first half.
There was the a free kick from just beyond the box after Adrien Rabiot drew a yellow card for a foul on Olmo in the eighth minute. Alex Baena’s kick went directly into the wall of French players.
After France goalkeeper Mike Maignan’s attempted clearing pass in the 38th minute instead went straight to Baena, there were several quick passes before Fabian Ruiz's close-range shot was denied on a nifty play by Upamecano.
Mbappé, who is tied with Argentina great Lionel Messi with a tournament-high eight goals and leads the race for the Golden Boot on the assist tiebreaker, still has the third-place match to add to his tally. Messi has two games left in his sixth World Cup to try to win the Golden Boot and also increase his overall record of 21 goals at the tournament.
“As the captain, I have to take all the responsibility and I have no problem with that,” Mbappé said. "We wanted to go to the final. We didn’t go.”
See more of AP’s World Cup coverage here
France's Lucas Digne, right, fouls Spain's Lamine Yamal in the penalty box for a Spain penalty kick during a World Cup semifinal soccer match in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
France's Adrien Rabiot (14) and Spain's Dani Olmo (10) go after the ball during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
France's Kylian Mbappe reacts during a World Cup semifinal soccer match against Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Spain's Pedro Porro reacts after scoring his side's second goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Referee Ivan Barton, of El Salvador, gestures to Spain's Lamine Yamal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Spain's Pedro Porro scores his side's second goal during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Spain's Lamine Yamal (19) reacts during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
France's Kylian Mbappe (10) reacts after Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal (21) scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
France's William Saliba (17) is checked on by France's Aurelien Tchouameni (8) and Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal (21) after being injured during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)
Spain's Mikel Oyarzabal scores the opening goal from the penalty spot past France goalkeeper Mike Maignan during the World Cup semifinal soccer match between France and Spain in Arlington, Texas, near Dallas, Tuesday, July 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Spain's Mikel Merino (6) celebrates scoring their second goal during the World Cup quarterfinal soccer match between Spain and Belgium in Inglewood, Calif., near Los Angeles, Friday, July 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
France's Kylian Mbappe participates in a training session ahead of the team's semifinal soccer match against Spain, Monday, July 13, 2026, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
