NEWS | National group planning ‘major direct action’ Tuesday in Biddeford

The highly-coordinated event is designed to put pressure on Senator Collins – a Republican facing reelection in November — regarding ramped up enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).

By RANDY SEAVER | Editor

One of Maine’s largest partisan organizations is teaming up with a national organization to co-host a “major” protest rally outside of U.S. Senator Susan Collins’ regional office in Biddeford on Tuesday, August 11.

The highly-coordinated event is designed to put pressure on Collins – a Republican facing reelection in November — regarding ramped up enforcement actions by the U.S. Immigrations & Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE).

Organizers say the Biddeford protest event will take place simultaneously with similar events all across the country as part of a national “Week of Action” that will include “rallies, vigils, direct-action and a march” in response to ICE activity in Maine and across the country.

Tuesday’s planned events follow nearly a month of smaller-scale protests that have taken place in Biddeford since the fatal shooting of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero by ICE agents in Biddeford on July 13.

**LOCAL PROTESTS** rallies have been taking place near Mechanics Park since the July 13 shooting of Johan Guerrero | *File photo*

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The Biddeford event is being co-sponsored by the Maine People’s Alliance and Popular Democracy, both non-profit, partisan organizations that strongly support the Democratic Party at the state and national level.

According to a press release sent to statewide media outlets on Friday, the exact time of the event will be provided upon request, and the media is being asked to RSVP. As of press time on Saturday, organizers had not responded to our inquiries.

“As members of Congress return home for the August recess, immigrant communities, faith leaders, workers, elected officials and allies from across Maine will gather outside Sen. Susan Collins’ Biddeford office for a major day of direct action demanding accountability for votes that expanded Immigration and Customs Enforcement while cutting healthcare, food assistance and other essential programs,” reads one section of the press release.

Organizers say the fatal shooting of Guerrero “has galvanized communities across Maine and transformed grief into a sustained movement demanding justice, transparency and an end to policies they say prioritize detention and deportation over care and human dignity.”

Collins serves as Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, and organizers say it is that role they are focusing upon.

**REPUBLICAN US SENATOR SUSAN COLLINS** is facing reelection in November | *Courtesy photo*

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“[She] has extraordinary influence over federal spending decisions and bears a unique responsibility for funding the largest expansion of ICE in the agency’s history,” reads another section of the press release.

Protestors and event participants are calling on Collins and other members of Congress to halt future ICE expansion and “support an independent investigation into the July 13 shooting, protect witnesses, and redirect billions of taxpayer dollars toward healthcare, SNAP, housing, education and other investments that strengthen working families.”

The Biddeford action will serve as the national launch of Popular Democracy’s “Fund Care, Not Cruelty” August Recess Week of Action, a coordinated campaign inviting communities nationwide to hold members of Congress accountable for “voting to expand ICE while slashing healthcare and food assistance. Throughout the week, organizations across the country will organize rallies, vigils, sit-ins, marches and other direct actions.”

Critics say that Collins voted to fund the agency with an additional $70 billion while Maine families are being forced to go without health care and make terrible choices between food and other expenses while federal immigration enforcement receives unprecedented new funding.

Organizers say the Week of Action campaign will mark the beginning of a sustained national accountability effort heading into the 2026 midterm elections.

“Major actions” on Tuesday are planned in several Maine communities; and in Ohio and New York — and will expand to Congressional districts across the country throughout the August recess to “ensure that members of Congress cannot escape the consequences of their votes.”

Organizers say the Biddeford event will feature a rally and speaking program with immigration justice leaders, the faith community, elected officials, labor rights organizers and directly impacted community members before participants engage in a peaceful direct action outside Sen. Collins’ office.

Planned activities will include reading of names of those who have died in ICE custody or in encounters with immigration enforcement; mariachi musicians performing memorial music and photographs honoring Guerrero and others “lost to ICE violence.”

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