Immigration and Customs Enforcement confirmed on Monday that they arrested a Jamaican illegal alien who had been working as a law enforcement officer in Maine.
Jon Luke Evans unlawfully tried to purchase a gun, leading to his arrest with the help of ICE officers based in Boston, according to a report from WMTW-TV.
The Jamaican national said he was trying to buy the gun because of his job, according to Fox News correspondent Bill Melugin.
BREAKING: ICE confirms to @FoxNews they’ve arrested a Jamaican illegal alien who is employed as a police officer in Maine after he illegally attempted to buy a gun, which triggered an alert to ATF.
ICE says Jon Luke Evans, who is in the U.S. illegally as a visa overstay, was… pic.twitter.com/FfQWH0vH5V
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) July 28, 2025
Melugin said ICE confirmed to him that an alert was triggered at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives when Evans tried to acquire the gun.
He had been working as an officer for the Old Orchard Beach Police Department in Maine.
Despite his work in law enforcement, Evans himself apparently broke immigration law, flying into Miami in September 2023 but never boarding his return flight days later, thereby overstaying his visa.
Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard said in a statement that Evans had been hired as a reserve officer in May.
Chard claimed that his federal immigration and work authorization was approved by the Department of Homeland Security.
“We are distressed and deeply concerned about this apparent error on the part of the federal government,” Chard said.
“Evans would not have been permitted to begin work as a reserve officer until and unless Homeland Security verified his status,” she added.
“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 that reserve officers are provided with firearm training and given weapons owned by the department during their shifts.
Patricia Hyde, the field director for ICE Boston, condemned the hiring of an illegal alien as a police officer.
“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,” Hyde said in a statement to Fox News.
“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,” she continued.
“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 added. “ICE Boston will continue to prioritize public safety by arresting and removing criminal alien threats from our New England communities.”
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