ICE announced that it arrested a Jamaican national, 30-year-old Jon Luke Evans, after he allegedly tried to purchase a firearm illegally while working as a reserve police officer in Old Orchard Beach, Maine.
According to ICE’s Boston field office, Evans entered the U.S. on a visa last September that required him to leave within a week. He never did, making him unlawfully present when he was hired by the Old Orchard Beach Police Department in May.
Here’s where it gets even messier: Evans reportedly told investigators he was buying the gun for his police work — and yet, as an illegal immigrant, he was never supposed to be in the country, let alone wearing a badge.
“This case raises serious concerns,” said Patricia H. Hyde, acting field office director for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations in Boston. “We will continue working to ensure that individuals who violate immigration laws and pose potential threats to public safety are held accountable.”
Old Orchard Beach Police are now scrambling to figure out how this happened. Chief Elise Chard said Evans underwent a full background check, medical screening, and training before being hired as a seasonal officer. The department used the federal E-Verify system, which supposedly confirmed Evans’ eligibility to work — and he even had an Employment Authorization Document showing an expiration date of March 2030.
“Our department and our community relied on the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program to ensure we were meeting our obligations,” Chard said, calling the situation “distressing” and blaming what appears to be a major federal error.
Maine is one of a dozen states that allow non-citizens with valid work permits to serve in law enforcement, but ICE says Evans overstayed his visa months before being hired. Reserve officers in Old Orchard Beach aren’t issued take-home guns and aren’t allowed to carry personal weapons while on duty, but Evans’ attempt to purchase his own firearm triggered the ATF and ICE investigation that led to his arrest.
This isn’t the first case like this, either. In April, ICE arrested a Congolese national who was working as a corrections officer in Falmouth, Maine, after he allegedly tried to buy a gun while being in the country illegally.
ICE says these cases highlight a troubling pattern: individuals in the U.S. unlawfully slipping into sensitive public safety roles. For Evans, his probationary status with the department is now under review, and an internal investigation is underway.
