Two firefighters working to contain a wildfire in Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula were detained by agents during an operation, prompting widespread criticism from lawmakers and state officials.
According to news agency Associated Press, the workers were part of a 44-person contract crew assigned to the when federal agents carried out identity checks on Wednesday.
Authorities said two men were found to be in the United States illegally, with one facing a prior removal order.
Both were taken into custody on charges of illegal entry and re-entry. The Bureau of Land Management subsequently terminated contracts with two Oregon-based firms, Table Rock Forestry and ASI Arden Solutions, and escorted the remaining 42 workers off federal land.
The operation unfolded while crews were tackling the Bear Gulch Fire, which has burned about 14 square miles of forest and was 13 per cent contained by Thursday afternoon.
Witnesses cited by the Seattle Times said that the firefighters were lined up and ordered to show identification, and were barred from saying goodbye to their detained colleagues. One firefighter was quoted as saying, “You risked your life out here to save the community. This is how they treat us.”
The detentions provoked sharp responses from Washington Senator Patty Murray, who branded the Trump administration’s approach to immigration “fundamentally sick.”
As per The Guardian, she said: “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.”
Washington Governor Bob Ferguson also said he was “deeply concerned” and has demanded further information from federal agencies. Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove added that the actions had stoked fear and mistrust at a time when firefighters were risking their lives.
As per news agency AFP, agents held the crews for several hours and prohibited them from filming the encounter. US Customs and Border Protection later defended the move, saying it was carried out at the request of land management officials and highlighted interagency coordination.
As per AP, chief patrol agent Rosario Vasquez stated, “US Border Patrol steadfastly enforces the laws of the United States and unapologetically addresses violations of immigration law wherever they are encountered.”
Lawyers with Innovation Law Lab, representing one of the detained men, alleged he was unlawfully held and denied access to counsel. “We demand that they allow him to access counsel as is his right afforded by the US Constitution,” lawyer Rodrigo Fernandez-Ortega was quoted as saying by AP.
The US Forest Service confirmed it was aware of the Border Patrol’s activity but stressed that firefighting progress at Bear Gulch was not disrupted.
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