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WASHINGTON — <\/span>Democratic members of Congress demanded answers about Homeland Security’s<\/a> vetting and training of immigration enforcement agents after it was disclosed Thursday that the ICE officer involved in a deadly shooting<\/a> this week in Maine had a history of mental health issues and violent behavior. <\/p>\n The Associated Press reported that David Brouillette,<\/a> the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who shot a Colombian man in Maine, is an Army veteran who has struggled with serious mental health issues since early childhood, according to several of his close relatives.<\/p>\n The AP reached out to congressional leaders and several key lawmakers of both parties for response.<\/p>\n The top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, said Brouillette\u2019s history of violence and mental health issues, as well as the death in Maine, \u201cdirectly call into question the supposed vetting and training ICE does of its recruits.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis senseless tragedy must be investigated and the officer responsible should be taken off our streets and face justice for his actions,\u201d Thompson said in a statement to the AP. <\/p>\n Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who led a shutdown<\/a> of the Department of Homeland Security earlier this year as Democrats tried to impose restraints on immigration enforcement<\/a> operations, said the consequences of failing to put guardrails on ICE are now being measured in lives.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Trump administration rushed 12,000 agents onto our streets without ensuring they were fit to carry a badge and a gun \u2014 and Republicans gave this rogue agency vast power and no accountability,\u201d Schumer said in a statement. \u201cThey empowered ICE. Now they must work with us to prevent more killings.\u201d <\/p>\n The report on Brouillette\u2019s troubling past comes as the Department of Homeland Security has been on a hiring spree<\/a>, fueled by vast sums from Republicans in Congress to help carry out President Donald Trump\u2019s mass deportation agenda. It raises fresh questions<\/a> about the department’s efforts to quickly hire, vet, train and dispatch recruits who are being sent to patrol communities across America.<\/p>\n Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chair of the powerful Appropriations Committee, referred back to her prior statement that \u201can impartial investigation into the shooting in Biddeford needs to proceed, as the details surrounding this tragedy are important.\u201d<\/p>\n