Maine reserve officer to depart U.S. after immigration arrest

A reserve officer with a coastal Maine police department has agreed to leave the United States voluntarily after being arrested by federal immigration authorities, who say he overstayed a visa and had sought to purchase a firearm. The development comes amid a public dispute over the reliability of the government’s employment verification system and the balance between local policing and federal immigration enforcement.

Old Orchard Beach Police Department reserve Officer Jon Luke Evans, a Jamaica native, was detained by immigration authorities on July 25 as part of a broader effort to strengthen immigration enforcement. Federal officials say a judge has granted Evans voluntary departure, allowing him to depart the country at his own expense to avoid formal deportation proceedings. Officials cautioned that delays and transfers between facilities occasionally complicate the public record, with Evans at times listed as being at a Rhode Island detention facility before being reported in Massachusetts.

Evans’ employment by the town had been supported by prior assurances from federal authorities that he was legally eligible to work in the United States. Police Chief Elise Chard said...