A police department in Maine said one of its reserve officers was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement even though he had legal authorization to work in the U.S.
The Old Orchard Beach Police Department said it learned that Jon Luke Evans was detained by ICE on Friday through the agency's public press release.
According to ICE, Evans, who is from Jamaica, tried to buy a firearm for his employment as a reserve officer, and it "triggered an alert to ATF agents, who worked in coordination with ICE to make the arrest."
ICE claimed Evans had entered the U.S. legally through Miami International Airport in 2023 but that he had overstayed his visa.
Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard said when Evans was hired, the town reviewed all of Evans's documents, including an I-9 federal immigration and work authorization form to verify that he was legally authorized to work in the U.S.
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Chard said that the form was submitted to the Department of Homeland Security for verification and was approved on May 12.
"Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status," Chard said in a statement. "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 explained that the state of Maine is one of a handful of states that allows residents who are not U.S. citizens to work in law enforcement and that the department hires part-time summer reserve officers every year.
"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," Chard said.
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Reserve officers are typically assigned to beach patrol and community policing in the resort town; however, they do undergo firearms training and are issued a department firearm that they must leave at the department at the end of each shift, according to the police chief.
"We are distressed and deeply concerned about this apparent error on the part of the federal government," said Chard. "We intend to investigate this matter to determine what other steps we should take moving forward to ensure our continued compliance with all applicable laws."
