Editor鈥檚 note: In an , U.S. Customs and Border Protection said the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service requested Border Patrol鈥檚 help on Aug. 27 after contracts with Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI Arden Solutions Inc. were ended following a BLM criminal investigation. Because of the site鈥檚 remote location, agents were asked to verify the identities of 44 personnel.
CBP reported discrepancies, including two individuals in the country illegally, one with a prior removal order. Both were arrested and taken to the Bellingham Station. The remaining 42 were released and escorted off federal land.
Officials said the operation has not interfered with firefighting progress on the 9,000-acre Bear Gulch Fire.
By Martha Bellisle
Associated Press
SEATTLE 鈥� Two firefighters who were part of a 44-person crew fighting a wildland blaze on Washington state鈥檚 Olympic Peninsula were by U.S. Border Patrol agents during a multiagency criminal investigation into the two contractors they worked for, federal authorities said Thursday.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management asked the Border Patrol to help check the workers鈥� identities Wednesday when crews were working in a remote area, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol said in a statement. Border Patrol agents found two workers who were in the U.S. illegally and detained them, the agencies said.
Federal authorities did not provide information about the investigation into the contractors, and they did not immediately respond to questions seeking details about the criminal case.
The BLM terminated the contracts with Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI Arden Solutions Inc. 鈥� both from Oregon 鈥� and escorted the 42 workers off federal land, the release said. The two arrested were taken to the Bellingham station on charges of illegal entry and reentry, authorities said.
Email and phone messages left Thursday for the two businesses seeking comment were not immediately returned.
US senator blasts detentions
saying firefighters had been arrested by federal agents sparked outrage from U.S. Sen. Patty Murray. Several firefighters who witnessed the incident had told anonymously that federal agents took two firefighters into custody.
Murray responded to the news on Thursday by saying the by 鈥渄ecimating the Forest Service鈥� and their immigration policy 鈥渋s fundamentally sick.鈥�
鈥淗ere in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires can, and have, burned entire towns to the ground,鈥� the Democrat said in a statement. 鈥淭his new Republican policy to detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous.鈥�
Dennis Lawson, president of the Washington State Council of Fire Fighters, told the AP that firefighters work as a team, and losing a member for any reason hurts their ability to serve their communities.
US officials say detentions highlight coordination
U.S. Border Patrol Blaine Sector Chief Patrol Agent Rosario Vasquez said in the statement that the effort highlights the coordination between federal agencies to ensure the integrity of government operations.
鈥淯.S. Border Patrol steadfastly enforces the laws of the United States and unapologetically addresses violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered,鈥� Vasquez said.
The crews were helping with the Bear Gulch Fire, which has burned about 14 square miles (36 square kilometers) on the north side of Lake Cushman in the Olympic National Forest and National Park. It was 13% contained by Thursday afternoon.
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden posted on the social media site X that one of the arrested firefighters was from Oregon and denounced the arrest, saying it makes communities less safe. The man is represented by lawyers with the nonprofit Innovation Law Lab, who said he was unlawfully detained and they have been unable to locate him.
鈥淲e demand that they allow him to access counsel as is his right afforded by the U.S. Constitution,鈥� lawyer Rodrigo Fernandez-Ortega said in an email. 鈥淲e have seen entire towns burned to the ground and it is outrageous that the US border patrol unlawfully detained the brave individuals who are protecting us.鈥�
Washington governor 鈥榙eeply concerned鈥�
Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was 鈥渄eeply concerned鈥� about the news, adding that firefighters help keep communities safe. He said his team has reached out to the federal agencies to get more information and 鈥渢o question why the Trump administration鈥檚 cruel immigration policies now extend to individuals fighting forest fires.鈥�
Jennifer Risdal, a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service鈥檚 Incident Management Team overseeing the firefighting efforts, said they were aware of the Border Patrol activities at the fire site but offered no information about what happened.
鈥淭he Border Patrol operation is not interfering with firefighting activity and Bear Gulch firefighters continue to make progress on the fire,鈥� Risdal told The Associated Press in an email.
During the first Trump administration, DHS issued a statement during the 2020 wildfire season saying CBP and Immigration and Customs Enforcement were concerned about the impact the fires could have on Western states and said their highest priority was 鈥渢he preservation of life and safety.鈥�
鈥淚n consideration of these circumstances, there will be no immigration enforcement initiatives associated with evacuations or sheltering related to the wildfires, except in the event of a serious public safety threat,鈥� the statement said.
Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove, whose agency oversees Washington鈥檚 wildland firefighting efforts, said he was aware of the enforcement actions at the Bear Gulch Fire.
鈥淲hile we don鈥檛 have all of the details yet, this is all occurring at a time when the Trump administration鈥檚 crude and inhumane approach to immigration enforcement has intentionally and unnecessarily stoked fear and mistrust among members of the public 鈥� including firefighters putting their lives on the line to protect our state,鈥� he said.
