BIDDEFORD, Maine — Federal immigration authorities are criticizing a local police department after the arrest of a Jamaican national who is working as a police officer in Maine while living in the U.S. illegally.
Jon Luke Evans was arrested Friday in Biddeford, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials said in a statement on Tuesday.
Officers with ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Boston and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives arrested Evans after he unlawfully attempted to buy a firearm, officials said.
At the time of his arrest, Evans was employed as a reserve police officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department.
“Jon Luke Evans not only broke U.S. immigration law, but he also illegally attempted to purchase a firearm. Shockingly, Evans was employed as a local law enforcement officer,” ICE ERO Boston acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde said in a statement.
“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,” 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,” Hyde said. “ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our New England communities.”
Evans admitted to ICE officers that he attempted to purchase the firearm for his employment as a police officer with the Old Orchard Beach Police Department.
His attempt to purchase the firearm triggered an alert to ATF agents, who worked in coordination with ICE to make the arrest.
Evans lawfully entered the U.S. at Miami International Airport in Florida on Sept. 24, 2023, but he violated the terms of his lawful admission when he overstayed his visa, Hyde said.
Evans was scheduled to depart the U.S. on Oct. 1, 2023, but never boarded the flight.
In a very similar case in April, Hyde said ICE officers in Falmouth arrested Gratien Milandou Wamba, 32, a citizen of Congo, who was working as a corrections officer and living in the U.S. illegally.
Officers with ICE Boston’s office in Scarborough, Maine arrested Milandou Wamba for immigration violations after he allegedly illegally attempted to purchase a firearm.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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