Federal officials continued to criticize Old Orchard Beach this week following the recent arrest of a town reserve officer by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, but the town’s police chief maintained that her department filed the right paperwork to verify he was legally allowed to work in the United States.

Jon-Luke Evans was arrested by ICE on July 25 after he attempted to purchase a firearm, according to the federal agency. ICE officials accused Evans of overstaying his visa, which was reportedly issued in September 2023.

Old Orchard Beach Police Chief Elise Chard and Town Manager Diana Asanza said in an interview with the Press Herald on Wednesday that Evans, 23, provided proper identification and a work authorization card. They said Evans was vetted through the Department of Homeland Security’s online system, which confirmed he was cleared to work.

The town officials said they haven’t heard from ICE about what prompted Evans’ arrest, which Chard said is frustrating.

“To say that … the police department is or the town is knowingly employing undocumented (people), it’s kind of absurd,” Asanza said.

Evans is being held by ICE at the Plymouth County Correctional Facility in Massachusetts.

The Old Orchard Beach Police Department uses a system called E-Verify, which is maintained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to confirm that its applicants are legally allowed to work in the U.S. Asanza said the town uses this system to screen each employee, and that the town has used E-Verify before hiring employees in the past.

Evans’ federal employment authorization document was not set to expire until 2030, according to town officials. But in a statement Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security accused Old Orchard Beach police of improperly relying on the system.

“The Old Orchard Beach Police Department’s reckless reliance on E-Verify to justify arming an illegal alien, Jon-Luke Evans violates federal law, and does not absolve them of their failure to conduct basic background checks to verify legal status,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in the statement.

Old Orchard Beach issued a lengthy press release Wednesday afternoon detailing the circumstances of Evans’ employment, including the type of information he provided in his application and stating all of his documents were in line with the E-Verify system’s validation.

“Today, the Department of Homeland Security doubled down on its attack, but in doing so has thrown its own electronic verification system into question,” Asanza is quoted saying in the release. “If we should not trust the word of the federal computer system that verifies documents and employment eligibility, what good is that system?”

Chard said in the interview that Evans underwent additional background checks, but ultimately, the town had used the appropriate system to verify he was legally allowed to work.

“We’d done everything that we were supposed to do. He’d done everything he was supposed to do,” Chard said. “He, while he was working for us, was in fact a good employee.”

‘AMBIGUITY IN THE LAW’

Jon Bauer, who directs the Asylum and Human Rights Clinic at the University of Connecticut School of Law, said Wednesday that it was “odd that (the Department of Homeland Security) could fault someone for relying on E-Verify, given that it’s a government system.”

Bauer said he is not familiar with Evans’ case and couldn’t speak to the details of his employment or immigration status. At the clinic, Bauer said, he has seen other cases where ICE arrested people who the federal government had approved to work.

“There is an ambiguity in the law between having a lawful immigration status and being legally authorized to work,” Bauer said.

Legal experts say there are many different ways someone can obtain a work permit, even if their visa has expired. One of the most common examples are asylum-seekers, who can obtain a work permit 180 days after applying for asylum. People can also seek a work permit if they’ve been paroled after crossing the border, if they’re waiting for a green card or if they were granted some form of temporary protected status or deferred action.

According to ICE, Evans lawfully came to the U.S. in September 2023, but overstayed his visa. Further details about his status are unclear. Attempts to reach people who appeared to know Evans were unsuccessful.

Anna Welch, a professor and director of the University of Maine School of Law’s Refugee and Human Rights Clinic, said this issue will continue to “stoke more and more fear” among workers and employers who believe they’re “following the law and doing it right.”

Welch said she was also unaware of Evans’ status and couldn’t comment specifically on his case.

“The E-Verify system has been touted as being quite accurate,” Welch said. “Absent proof that he didn’t have a work permit, I’m not sure there’s anything more this police department could have done. … This is a program that’s touted by the Department of Homeland Security as being very important for employers to use.”

ATTEMPTED GUN PURCHASE

Old Orchard Beach reserve officers are part-time, seasonal employees who undergo background checks and firearms training, according to the police department. They are issued a department-owned firearm for the duration of their shift, but they cannot bring the weapon home.

Evans was a seasonal employee, meaning he was allowed to work for the department until Labor Day, Chard said.

ICE officials say his application to purchase a firearm was flagged by agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who helped carry out his arrest. According to ICE, Evans told officers he attempted to buy the firearm for his employment at the police department. In a statement Monday, Old Orchard Beach said reserve officers can’t purchase or carry any other firearms to complete their duties.

James Covington, an ICE spokesperson, did not respond to inquiries about when the attempted purchase occurred or why the agency was alerted to his application.

Austin Wozniak, a spokesperson for the Boston division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said he can’t discuss Evans’ case.

There were no criminal charges publicly filed against Evans in state or federal court Wednesday. The issue may come up in future hearings in immigration court.

Another man who had attempted to purchase his own gun before he was arrested by ICE — Gratien Milandou Wamba — was denied bond after the federal government referenced the firearm application. Milandou Wamba was working as a corrections officer for Cumberland County when he was arrested. He maintains that he had applied for asylum and is legally allowed to work in the United States.

An attorney representing Milandou Wamba did not respond to a voicemail Wednesday seeking an update on his case.