Seasonal police officer in Old Orchard Beach, Maine arrested by ICE, officials confirm

Boston Globe

5 days ago

Maine is one of about a dozen states that allows non-citizen residents to work in law enforcement, according to the department.
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Evans legally arrived in the US via Miami International Airport on Sept. 24, 2023 but failed to board his return flight to Jamaica a week later on Oct. 1, 2023, ICE's statement said.
His attempt to buy a gun triggered an alert to agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, who worked in coordination with ICE to make the arrest.
'Jon Luke Evans not only broke U.S. immigration law, but he also illegally attempted to purchase a firearm,' Patricia H. Hyde, ICE's acting field office director for the agency's enforcement and removal operations in Boston, said in the statement.
'Shockingly, Evans was employed as a local law enforcement officer,' Hyde's statement said. 'The fact that a police department would hire an illegal alien and unlawfully issue him a firearm while on duty would be comical if it weren't so tragic.'
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'We have a police department that was knowingly breaking the very law they are charged with enforcing in order to employ an illegal alien,' Hyde's statement continued. 'ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our New England communities.'
Old Orchard Beach's police chief, Elise Chard, issued a statement that said when the department hired Evans, the US Department of Homeland Security, on May 12, verified and approved Evans's authorization to work in the US.
'Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status‚' Chard's statement said.
'The Police Department was notified that Evans was legally permitted to work in the U.S., and his I-766 Employment Authorization Document was not set to expire until March 2030,' Chard said.
The department was not officially notified of Evans' detention and only learned about it when ICE issued a news release, Chard's statement said.
'The Old Orchard Beach Police Department takes its legal responsibilities very seriously, and takes great care to follow the laws that we are tasked with enforcing,' Chard said. 'In hiring Evans, our department and our community relied on the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify program to ensure we were meeting our obligations, and we are distressed and deeply concerned about this apparent error on the part of the federal government.'
Chard said the police department intends to investigate the matter 'to determine what other steps we should take moving forward to ensure our continued compliance with all applicable laws.'
It is standard hiring process at the department for new hires to complete an I-9 federal immigration and work authorization form, according to Chard's statement.
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'As part of the hiring process, the Town reviewed multiple forms of identification, including photo identification, and submitted Evans' I-9 form to the Department of Homeland Security's E-Verify Program,' Chard's statement said. 'The Department of Homeland Security then verified that Evans was authorized to work in the U.S.'
The State of Maine, by law, allows those with legal work authorization to work in law enforcement, Chard said.
In Old Orchard Beach, reserve police officers are part-time, seasonal employees who must meet the same background checks, pass the same physical agility tests, and receive the same medical evaluations as full-time police officers, according to Chard's statement.
Reserve officers patrol the beach and the community. They are trained and issued a firearm but are not allowed to take their department-issued gun home with them, Chard's statement said.
'Reserve officers are not requested to, nor are they allowed to purchase or carry any other firearms for the performance of their duties.' Chard said.
Evans passed all physical, medical, and background checks, was approved by Homeland Security and underwent training before he was deployed, Chard said.
Evans' probationary employment status is now under review and 'a thorough internal review of the facts and circumstances' will be conducted, Chard said.
Tonya Alanez can be reached at