By Patrick Whittle
Related Press
OLD ORCHARD BEACH, Maine — A Maine police officer arrested by immigration authorities has agreed to voluntarily depart the nation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement mentioned Monday.
ICE arrested Outdated Orchard Seashore Police Division reserve Officer Jon Luke Evans, of Jamaica, on July 25, as a part of the company’s effort to step up immigration enforcement. Officers with the city and police division have mentioned federal authorities beforehand instructed them Evans was legally approved to work within the U.S.
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An ICE consultant reached by phone instructed The Related Press on Monday {that a} decide has granted voluntary departure for Evans and that he might depart as quickly as that day. The consultant didn’t present different particulars about Evans’ case.
Evans’ arrest touched off a dispute between Outdated Orchard Seashore officers and ICE. Police Chief Elise Chard has mentioned the division was notified by federal officers that Evans was legally permitted to work within the nation, and that the city submitted data by way of the Division of Homeland Safety’s E-Verify program previous to Evans’ employment. Assistant Secretary of Homeland Safety Tricia McLaughlin then accused the city of “reckless reliance” on the division’s E-Confirm program.
E-Confirm is a web-based system that permits employers to test if potential staff can work legally within the U.S.
Officers with Outdated Orchard Seashore didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
ICE’s detainee lookup web site mentioned Monday that Evans was being held on the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility in Central Falls, Rhode Island. Nevertheless, a consultant for Wyatt mentioned Evans had been transferred to an ICE facility in Burlington, Massachusetts. ICE officers didn’t reply to requests for touch upon the discrepancy. It was unclear if Evans was represented by an lawyer, and a message left for him on the detention facility was not returned.
ICE officers mentioned in July that Evans overstayed his visa and unlawfully tried to buy a firearm. WMTW-TV reported Monday that Evans’ settlement to a voluntary departure means he might be allowed to go away the U.S. at his personal expense to keep away from being deported.