Republican who backs Trump’s immigration crackdown begs for his relative to not be deported

Former Maine Governor Paul LePage says that federal immigration authorities were seeking to deport his son’s father-in-law, and he has called on officials to stop the removal.LePage, a staunch conservative running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, has made border policy a central focus of his political campaign. However, as reported by The Washington Post, the candidate expressed strong objection to the federal action taken against his relative, who he said resides legally in the United States.“That’s not right,” LePage said. “He has a work permit. He should be allowed to stay.”LePage said that his relative faces deportation “because he came from a country that’s not the liking to certain people in Washington.”Former Maine Governor Paul LePage said Monday that his son’s father-in-law was facing deportation, calling on federal authorities to stop the removal (Getty)The situation follows an increase in federal enforcement operations across Maine. In January, the Trump administration sent additional Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to the state — those tensions peaked six months later, in July, when an ICE agent shot and killed a man in Biddeford.The Department of Homeland Security stated that agents fired after the victim, a 25-year-old Colombian national named Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, attempted to flee in his car during a targeted enforcement operation, as reported by the Associated Press.Federal officials alleged that the driver posed a threat to public safety when officers confronted him. However, lawmakers and immigrant advocacy groups quickly challenged that account, noting that Durán Guerrero held a valid work permit and was not the intended target of the arrest warrant.In July, federal immigration agents shot and killed 25-year-old Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford following a months-long federal enforcement push across Maine (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)Witness accounts and local security footage showed federal officers surrounding the vehicle before gunshots were fired at the intersection of Pool and Hill streets. The fatal encounter sparked protests across southern Maine and prompted calls for an independent federal investigation into the agency’s use of force.According to tracking by The New York Times, Durán Guerrero’s death came less than a week after federal agents in Houston fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in his car, bringing the count of people shot at by officers involved in the federal deportation campaign to 23. Six people, including three U.S. citizens, have been killed in these incidents, almost all of which involved agents opening fire on occupants inside vehicles.At least 23 people have been shot at by federal immigration agents since the start of the administration's mass deportation campaign — six of those encounters resulted in deaths (AFP/Getty)Law enforcement experts noted that firing into vehicles deviates from standard protocols and federal rules, which state officers should only use deadly force when facing an imminent threat of death or serious injury. Although the government has charged multiple drivers with assaulting federal officers, seven of the 13 people charged following such shootings have had their cases dismissed in court.Throughout his political career, LePage has consistently advocated strict law enforcement protocols and endorsed local Maine agencies working in coordination with federal immigration authorities.