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Sen. Susan Collins defends ICE as doing 'vital safety work'

newsJul 15, 20268814,087

Senator Susan Collins defended U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement as performing "absolutely vital safety work" while urging the agency to improve its performance, comments that came after an ICE agent fatally shot 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero in Maine. Collins told reporters she had pushed for body cameras and training and said she persuaded Representative Markwayne Mullin to halt ICE vehicle stops before President Trump overruled that decision. Collins, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee and voted in favor of providing roughly $70 billion in additional funding for ICE and Border Patrol, faces protests and attacks from Democratic challengers over her role in overseeing the agency. Sen. Patty Murray publicly called Collins's defense "completely absurd." Coverage in Newsweek, HuffPost, The Independent and The Washington Post notes that critics question whether ICE agents were wearing body cameras during the Maine shooting and demand accountability and greater oversight. Protesters in Maine and progressive lawmakers have linked Collins's funding votes to the agency's conduct and say oversight and transparency must follow; Collins says funding secured additional bodycams and training. The dispute is shaping one of 2026's closest Senate races and could drive further demands for congressional hearings or supplemental oversight measures.

Joe Walsh
@walshfreedom.bsky.social

Susan Collins faces political liability. PAXIS says: The victim was not the person agents sought. Masked agents, unmarked cars, no body cameras, hallmarks of a gang trying to carjack you. Collins funded ICE. Maine voters are linking her to a killing with no accountability. GoFundMe.com/PAXIS

726344d ago
Ron Filipkowski
@ronfilipkowski.bsky.social

Susan Collins assured the people of Maine yesterday that she persuaded Markwayne Mullin to stop ICE traffic stops. Trump overruled her.

174044d ago
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