U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) notified Monday that a Maine police officer detained by immigration authorities has consented to leave the country voluntarily.
As part of increased enforcement efforts, ICE detained Jamaican-born Reserve Officer Jon Luke Evans, a member of the Old Orchard Beach Police Department, on July 25. Prior to this, local officials said that federal authorities had informed them that Evans was legally permitted to work in the nation.
A judge authorized Evans’ voluntary departure, enabling him to depart as early as Monday, an ICE official told The Associated Press. No other information on his case was given.
ICE and Old Orchard Beach officials are at odds over the arrest. According to Police Chief Elise Chard, the town verified Evans’ status through the Department of Homeland Security’s E-Verify program, and federal officials notified the department that he was permitted to work. Tricia McLaughlin, the assistant secretary of homeland security, subsequently charged the municipality of relying too heavily on that technology.
An online program called E-Verify assists employers in determining if prospective hires are authorized to work in the United States.
Chard stated on Monday that the town was aware of rumors that Evans intended to leave on his own volition.
In a statement, Chard reaffirmed the town’s continued commitment to abiding by all employment-related state and federal regulations. To verify employment eligibility, we will still use the E-Verify database and the I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification form.
Evans was detained at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island, according to the ICE detainee lookup website on Monday. He has already been moved to an ICE facility in Burlington, Massachusetts, according to a Wyatt spokesperson. Regarding the disparity, ICE representatives chose not to comment. Attempts to contact Evans in the prison facility were fruitless, and it was unclear if he had legal counsel.
ICE claimed in July that Evans had attempted to illegally buy a firearm and had overstayed his visa.His consent to voluntary departure, according to WMTW-TV, permits him to left the country on his own dime and avoid official deportation.
