Illegal Immigrant Caught Working as Police Officer in Maine While Attempting to Buy Firearm; ICE Says Detained Maine Police Officer Overstayed Visa. The chief Says He Cleared a Federal Check

Illegal immigrant caught working as police officer in Maine while attempting to buy firearm:

Federal immigration agents collared a Jamaican national who managed to get himself hired as a cop in Maine — despite being in the country illegally, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday.

Jamaican migrant Jon Luke Evans, who was employed as a reserve police officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department, illegally attempted to buy a gun. He was arrested in Biddeford on Friday, according to ICE.

ICE said Evans was also issued a gun by the police department.

“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,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia H. Hyde said.

“We have a police department that was knowingly breaking the very law they are charged with enforcing in order to employ an illegal alien. ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our New England communities,” Hyde added.

While Evans entered the US legally by flying into the Miami National Airport on Sept. 24, 2023, he overstayed his visa by nearly two years, ICE said. He was supposed to leave on October 1, 2023, but never did.

Evans joined the police force in May as a seasonal officer, the Old Orchard Beach Police Department told Fox News Digital. As part of his hiring process, Evans underwent a background check, physical and medical screenings and law enforcement training. --->READ MORE HERE

ABC News

ICE says detained Maine police officer overstayed visa. The chief says he cleared a federal check:

The chief of police in a resort town in Maine has called for an investigation into the arrest by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement of one of its officers

The chief of police in a Maine resort town has called for an investigation into the arrest by U.S.  and Customs Enforcement of one of its officers, who the chief said was federally approved to work in the country in May.

ICE arrested Old Orchard Beach Police Department reserve officer Jon Luke Evans, of Jamaica, on July 25. The agency said Evans was illegally present in the U.S. and unlawfully attempted to purchase a firearm.

ICE said in a Monday statement that Evans had legally entered the U.S. in September 2023 and violated the terms of his admission by overstaying his visa. But Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard said in her own Monday statement that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security had verified that Evans was authorized to work in the U.S. in May of this year.

The Old Orchard Beach Police Department and ICE officials did not respond to requests for a status update about Evans' case. It was unclear on Tuesday if he had access to an attorney.

ICE and Chard presented different accounts of Evans' employment by the town. Chard said the department was notified by federal officials that Evans was legally permitted to work in the country and his authorization document would not expire until 2030.

Chard said the town submitted information via the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify Program. E-Verify is an online system launched in the late 1990s that allows employers to check if potential employees can work legally in the U.S. Some large private employers use it, but most do not. --->READ MORE HERE

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