Biddeford Council Backs Ordinance Barring City Help for ICE

A final vote is set for October 20, three months after an immigration officer fatally shot a man in the city.

All nine Biddeford city councilors voted on Oct. 6 to advance an ordinance that would bar city employees, including police officers, from working with federal immigration agents, the Portland Press Herald reported. A second reading and final vote is scheduled for the council's Oct. 20 meeting.

The measure follows the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in the city about three months earlier.

City Attorney Harry Center said Biddeford police already decline to assist ICE, but that a formal ban covering all municipal employees would make that position more firm. The proposal draws on similar ordinances adopted in Portland and Lewiston. A state law restricting police coordination with federal immigration authorities took effect in July 2026.

Councilor Marc Lessard said he would ordinarily oppose limits on cooperation with federal law enforcement, describing such a step as a precedent that could bring unintended consequences, but supported the measure because of the shooting. "I want Biddeford to be the most welcoming, safe and happy place it can be," he said. His amendment calling for a council review of the ordinance every six months was rejected.

Councilor David Kurtz said the ordinance would be worth adopting even if it only marginally reduced the chance of another shooting.

This story was first reported by Portland Press Herald - Maine Sunday Telegram.