LEWISTON — Nancy and Roger Lagrange go to a lot of public events and are starting to feel burned out. There are just so many things to protest lately.

But there was no way they would miss the vigil in Kennedy Park on Tuesday night, they said, for the victim of a shooting on Monday in Biddeford.

“We’re here because we care,” said Nancy, seated on a bench in the park with a protest sign at her feet. “We care about people. Period. It doesn’t matter what their race is. It doesn’t even matter Democrat or Republican. I just don’t think we should be hurting each other. The government shouldn’t be given permission to hurt its own people.”

The gathering was held a day after Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 26-year-old man from Colombia, was shot and killed in Biddeford by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

Roger Lagrange brought a sign of his own, one that said: “No wars on our streets. Get ICE out.”

There were a lot of signs bearing similar messages as more and more people showed up for the vigil, organized by the Maine People’s Alliance, along with Safiya Khalid and the Rev. Jodi Hayashida. By 6 p.m. about 100 people had gathered at the park. 

James Dean of Lewiston wasn’t carrying a sign, but he was pretty clear about why he had come.

“I feel like when something happens against one,” he said, “it happens against all of us.”

Dean said he is gay and of mixed race. He knows what it feels like to be targeted for being a minority in those ways.

The way he sees it, every one of us is a piece of a grand mosaic.

“If we join our pieces together,” he said, “whether they’re sharp, dull, colored, patterned, shiny, whatever, we can all see that we all fit in one way or another.”

When Dean hears about a federal agent gunning down someone on a street in America, he’s reminded of the Martin Niemöller poem that begins: “First they came for the communists and I did not speak out.”

“That seems more relevant now,” Dean said, “because they keep coming for more and more people.”

The early evening vigil featured a number of speakers, including Hayashida and Khalid, a former city councilor.

Lewiston Mayor Carl Sheline, when his time at the microphone came, got right to the point.

“We are here tonight because ICE is shooting our neighbors dead in our streets, in Houston, Texas, last week, and in Biddeford just yesterday,” Sheline said. “It’s absolutely sickening. I was there last night with the mayor of Biddeford. Our hearts go out to Guerrero’s family and friends and the entire Biddeford community.”

The mayor encouraged the group to turn rage into action by calling their representatives to encourage them “to get ICE out of Maine.”

Immigrants, the mayor said, are always welcome in Lewiston.

“Attempts to divide us are not working,” he said. “The fascists will never win. The bullets of ICE will never stop the love that we have for each other.

“Lewiston is a place where neighbors care about each other,” Sheline said. “And we are strong… This city is full of leaders and they are stepping up now to serve our neighbors. It’s ever been my goal to make sure Lewiston is a safe and welcoming place for everyone.”

The group in Kennedy Park Tuesday night were calling for a “swift, transparent and independent investigation” into Guerrero’s death.

Nancy and Roger Lagrange were discouraged by the events in Biddeford on Monday, sure enough. But they were also gratified to see how many people were coming out to speak up about it.

“At least people are helping each other,” Nancy said. “You do see a lot of kind people.”