US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers arrested a Jamaican nationwide for allegedly making an attempt to buy a firearm illegally whereas employed as a reserve police officer in Outdated Orchard Seashore.
In accordance with ICE's Enforcement and Removing Operations (ERO) in Boston, Jon Luke Evans was taken into custody with help from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) after his firearm buy try raised considerations tied to his immigration standing on July 25 in Biddeford.
Federal authorities say Evans legally entered the USA by means of Miami Worldwide Airport on Sept. 24, 2023, underneath a visa that required his departure by Oct. 1, 2023.
He failed to go away as required and has remained within the nation unlawfully since.
In the course of the investigation, Evans reportedly claimed he was in search of to buy the firearm to be used in his function with the Outdated Orchard Seashore Police Division.
ICE officers are actually questioning how a person with out lawful immigration standing was employed by an area police company and probably issued a department-issued weapon.
“This case raises critical considerations,” stated Patricia H. Hyde, performing discipline workplace director for ERO Boston. “We'll proceed working to make sure that people who violate immigration legal guidelines and pose potential threats to public security are held accountable.”
The Outdated Orchard Seashore Police Division advised Fox Information Digital that Evans was employed in Might as a seasonal officer and underwent a full background verify, bodily and medical screening, and legislation enforcement coaching.
As a part of the hiring course of, the division submitted his employment paperwork to DHS by means of the federal E-Confirm system. In accordance with police, DHS confirmed Evans' eligibility to work, and his Employment Authorization Doc confirmed an expiration date of March 2030.
“Our division and our neighborhood relied on the Division of Homeland Safety's E-Confirm program to make sure we had been assembly our obligations,” stated Police Chief Elise Chard. “We're distressed and deeply involved about this obvious error on the a part of the federal authorities.”
Maine is one among a few dozen states that permits non-citizens with legitimate work permits to serve in legislation enforcement. Reserve officers in Outdated Orchard Seashore are seasonal workers tasked with neighborhood patrols and don't take department-issued firearms dwelling or carry private weapons whereas on obligation.
Evans' probationary standing is at the moment underneath overview, and the division has launched an inside investigation to guage its hiring protocols and guarantee compliance with all federal and state legal guidelines.
“We take our authorized tasks very significantly,” Chief Chard added.
“We intend to research this matter completely and decide what extra steps could also be vital shifting ahead.”
The arrest of Evans follows an identical case from April, through which ICE officers detained one other unlawful immigrant legislation enforcement worker in Falmouth, Maine.
Gratien Milandou Wamba, a 32-year-old Congolese nationwide, was working as a corrections officer when he was apprehended by ICE for immigration violations after allegedly making an attempt to buy a firearm illegally.
“Officers with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removing Operations Boston discipline workplace arrested Gratien Milandou Wamba, an illegally current, 32-year-old citizen of Congo,” ICE Spokesperson James Covington, noting the arrest stemmed from an illegal firearm buy try.
ICE emphasised that it's going to proceed enforcement efforts throughout New England, working in coordination with different federal companies to determine and apprehend people in violation of U.S. immigration legal guidelines, particularly these employed in delicate public security positions.
