ICE Arrests Illegal Immigrant Employed as Maine Police Officer

On Monday, Immigration Customs Enforcement (ICE) reported the arrest of an undocumented immigrant working as a police officer in Maine, following an attempt to buy a firearm.

John Luke Evans, a Jamaican citizen, was serving as a reserve officer at the Old Orchard Beach Police Station when he was apprehended on July 25. ICE and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were alerted to his actions after he tried to purchase firearms illegally.

Officials commented that the employment of illegal immigrants in police roles, particularly involving firearms, is both absurd and concerning. They emphasized ICE’s commitment to public safety by removing threats posed by criminal aliens from the New England area.

Evans had entered the United States legally via Miami International Airport on September 24, 2023, but ICE stated that he overstayed his visa, with it expiring on October 1, 2023.

Evans was hired as a summer reserve in May after the Old Orchard Beach Police Department verified his identification and submitted his I-9 to the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify system, which approved his application on May 12.

Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Ellis Chard noted that Evans passed all required physical and background checks and completed standard training for reserve officers. Nonetheless, Evans’s status is currently being reviewed, and he could face a lengthy probation period.

While reserve officers handle beach patrol and community policing, they are trained in the use of firearms, which they may use while on duty but cannot take home.

Some states permit non-citizens to hold law enforcement positions. Earlier this year, ICE arrested another illegal immigrant from Congo who worked as a corrections officer in Falmouth, Maine, for attempting to make a similar illegal firearm purchase.