Migrant Working as Maine Police Officer Arrested After Gun Purchase Attempt

A Jamaican citizen who overstayed his visa and was working as a reserve police officer in Maine was arrested after attempting to purchase a firearm, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jon Luke Evans, 22, entered the United States legally in September 2023 but failed to depart in October of the same year. The attempted gun purchase—allegedly to fulfill his duty at the Old Orchard Beach Police Department—triggered an alert to federal authorities, leading to his arrest in Biddeford by ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Boston, in coordination with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

ICE explained in a statement that Evans "not only broke U.S. immigration law, but he also illegally attempted to purchase a firearm."

Acting Field Office Director Patricia Hyde added:

"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. 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"

The Old Orchard Beach Police Department said in a statement shared with The Boston Herald that Evans was hired in May as a summer reserve officer and that he had submitted the required I-9 employment authorization form.

Police Chief Elise Chard explained that the department used the federal E-Verify system and received confirmation from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Evans was authorized to work. "Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status," Chard said. She also noted that his Employment Authorization Document was valid until March 2030.

Chard added that the police department was not informed of Evans' detention by federal officials and only learned of the arrest through ICE's public statement. ICE reported that Evans admitted to agents that he was attempting to purchase the firearm for use in his role as a police officer.