Maine police: Federal government ‘error’ led to hiring of officer arrested by ICE
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested a Maine police officer, and the chief of police now said he was only hired because of a mistake by a federal government verification program. ICE arrested Old Orchard Beach reserve officer Jon Luke Evans, accusing him of overstaying his visa and trying to buy a gun illegally.
Officer hired
In a statement, Old Orchard Beach police chief Elise Chard said the Department of Homeland Security verified Jamaican national Evans’ authorization to work. She said they hired Evans in May 2025, and all the legal documents necessary to hire him were approved, including an I-9.
“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.”
E-Verify is a web-based system that allows employers to confirm a potential employee’s eligibility to work in the U.S.
“The form was submitted and approved by DHS on May 12, 2025,” Chard said. “Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status.”
Maine is one of several states around the country that allows non-citizens to become police officers. Chard said Evans passed a background check, physical agility test and the same medical evaluations as full-time employees to be a part-time reserve officer.
Chard also said reserve police officers are not allowed to take their department-issued firearms home.
“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.
Officer arrested
ICE said Evans lawfully came into the country on Sept. 24, 2023, in Miami. The agency said he was supposed to leave just a week later and didn’t, thus outstaying his visa.
“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,” Patricia H. Hyde, ICE ERO Boston acting Field Office Director, said in a statement. “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.”
But Chard said it all comes down to the federal government website.
“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.
What happens next
Chard said the plan now is to continue to investigate the matter and “ensure our continued compliance with all applicable laws.”
It’s unclear where Evans is being held after being arrested Friday, July 25, or if he’s been given access to a lawyer.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
