NEED TO KNOW
- Two firefighters battling a wildfire on Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents over their immigration status
- Washington Sen. Patty Murray criticized the move, saying to “detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous”
- A USBP official said the agency “steadfastly enforces the laws” of the U.S. and “unapologetically addresses violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered”
Two firefighters who were battling a wildfire in a Washington state national park were arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
The firefighters were taken into custody following a multiagency criminal investigation by the Bureau of Land Management, U.S. Forest Service and U.S. Border Patrol, who had been investigating the contractors they worked for, according to a USBP press release.
The BLM requested Border Patrol’s assistance in “verifying the identities of all personnel” who had been on site at Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula. The work crews were required to undergo “identity verification” to ensure that the “individuals on-site matched the contractor rosters,” per the release.
During this process, federal officers concluded that two of the firefighters in the group were in the U.S. illegally, and that one of them had a “previous order of removal.” They were arrested and transported to the Bellingham Station on charges of illegal entry and reentry of removed aliens.
“This cooperative effort highlights the coordination between federal agencies in ensuring the integrity of government operations and maintaining public trust in fiduciary matters,” USBP Blaine Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rosario P. Vasquez said in the press release.
“U.S. Border Patrol steadfastly enforces the laws of the United States and unapologetically addresses violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered,” Vasquez added.
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Following the broader investigation, BLM terminated its contracts with Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI Arden Solutions Inc., which offer reforestation and wildland fire suppression services, respectively.
Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI Arden Solutions Inc. did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s requests for comment.
The USBP noted in their press release that the termination of the company’s contracts and arrests “did not interfere with firefighting operations or the response to any active fires in the area” and it did not pose “any danger to the surrounding community.”
However, the incident was criticized by Washington lawmakers, including Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, who told CBS News in a statement: “Here in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires can, and have, burned entire towns to the ground. This new Republican policy to detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous.”
She added that she was “demanding immediate answers from this administration about the circumstances of this incident, the whereabouts of the detained firefighters, and the administration’s current policy regarding immigration enforcement during active wildfires.”
The fire crews were helping to battle the Bear Gulch Fire, which has burned more than 9,000 acres (or 14 square miles) in the Olympic National Forest and National Park for nearly two months. Authorities noted, per CBS News, that the fire was 13% contained by Thursday, Aug. 28.
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