New interviews with family members of the federal immigration agent who shot and killed a man in Biddeford this summer show they had growing concerns about his mental health and anti-immigrant bias.

The New York Times reported Wednesday that David Brouillette, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed a 25-year-old Colombian man in July, sent a series of racist emails to his sister in 2021, criticizing her relationship with a Colombian man who is the father of her two children.

“He can takes his non citizen ass back to his country and enjoy his third world luxuries,” Brouillette wrote in one email, according to the Times, which noted that the emails contained several typos. He also said that the man’s “bloodline knows nothing about what it takes to earn and then CHERISH the freedom America offers.”

The Department of Homeland Security issued a lengthy statement on Wednesday morning, declining to identify its agents and defending its hiring practices. The agency also said it “does not comment on matters regarding personnel who are no longer with the agency,” although a spokesperson did not clarify if that applied to Brouillette.

Brouillette was identified by those who know him as the agent who shot and killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero on July 13 during an enforcement operation in Biddeford.

Durán Guerrero was a Colombian citizen with work authorization and no criminal history, according to his family’s attorneys. Sen. Angus King said in July that a DHS official told him that Durán Guerrero was not the target of the agents’ operation that morning.

Brouillette has not responded to repeated requests for comment from the Portland Press Herald and his phone number was still out of service when a reporter called Wednesday. The Times reported that Brouillette declined to speak with them after a reporter left a letter at his home. DHS has declined to name the agent involved.

The Times report also provides new details about Brouillette’s training to become an ICE agent, and his work history, citing anonymous sources who were briefed on his work history. Two people told the Times that Brouillette skipped ICE’s full training course in Georgia.

Another source reported that officials had not looked into Brouillette’s background at the time of the shooting, because the federal agency had “a gigantic backlog” of reports. Brouillette could not access some computer systems because he didn’t have full clearance, the Times reported.

“The agency restricted his access to certain computer systems because he had not been fully cleared, yet apparently saw no problem trusting him with the power to take someone’s life,” U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, said Wednesday.

A DHS spokesperson, responding through a media email without names, said that the agency refuses to “dox” employees, citing safety concerns, and defended its “rigorous standards” for ICE agents and vetting procedures.

“Incoming ICE officers, many already with years of law enforcement experience, are onboarded in accordance with applicable policies and standards. Any claims of substandard training or vetting are FALSE,” the spokesperson wrote. “This administration is preserving ICE’s reputation as one of the most elite law enforcement agencies not only in the U.S., but the entire world.”

Benjamin Gideon, an attorney for Durán Guerrero’s family said in a statement that the Times’ reporting “adds to the long list of Mr. Brouillette’s disqualifying conduct” and hostility toward immigrants.

“Johan Sebastián’s death was not an inevitable accident,” Gideon said in the statement.

Gideon urged newly elected members of Congress to investigate. Pingree said the Times’ reporting revealed an “unconscionable betrayal of the public’s trust” by ICE, and she called for the agency to be abolished.

The Press Herald previously reported that a Hallowell official saw “too many red flags” in Brouillette’s background to hire him at the local police department, despite his experience working as a child support enforcement officer for the state, and as a corrections officer in Windham.

Brouillette and his second ex-wife had filed a total of eight protection from abuse order requests against each other that detailed allegations of verbal and physical abuse.

Ashley Brouillette, David Brouillette’s first ex-wife, who has also accused him of being abusive, was one of the first people to tell reporters that he was the shooter. She said he told her so when he called her on July 15. She said Wednesday that she spoke about her ex-husband about a week later, in an interview with members of DHS and the Office of the Maine Attorney General.

Both agencies have announced investigations into the July 13 shooting, although none have shared updates since then.

Sean Murphy, another attorney for Durán Guerrero’s family, said that state prosecutors told his clients earlier this summer that Attorney General Aaron Frey wanted to make a decision on the investigation before he leaves office. Lawmakers will elect a new attorney general next month.

A spokesperson for the Maine attorney general referred a reporter to what’s been publicly released and said they don’t comment on pending investigations.

According to the Times, Brouillette declined to speak with them after a reporter left the letter at his home in Maine. Brouillette also called the sheriff’s office and said he was under “executive protection,” according to the Times.

This echoes what the father of Brouillette’s young stepdaughter wrote in court records for a protection from abuse order earlier this summer. Brouillette and his wife reportedly told the father that they were entering “protective custody” due to threats Brouillette received, following the shooting.

Morgan Womack — 207-791-6216 mwomack@metln.org

Emily Allen — 207-791-6457 eallen@pressherald.com