In Washington state, U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested two firefighters while they battled the state’s largest active blaze. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed Border Patrol agents detained two crew members during a multiagency criminal investigation.
According to a statement from DHS, U.S. Border Patrol personnel were on site assisting the U.S. Forest Service in an investigation. The agencies were investigating the two contractors for whom the firefighters were working.
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Border Patrol arrests
Border Patrol said it arrested the two firefighters after verifying their identities on site. In a statement, DHS said “several discrepancies were identified, and two individuals were found to be present in the U.S. illegally, one with a previous order of removal.”
DHS took the two individuals into custody on charges of illegal entry and “re-entry of removed aliens.” It said Border Patrol released the other 42 individuals on site and escorted them off the premises.
While Border Patrol did not release details on the initial investigation into the contractors, it confirmed that investigators had terminated the contracts.
Other crew members on site said they were shocked to see an arrest during an active fire response.
Bear Gulch fire
At the time of the arrests, firefighters were working to extinguish the Bear Gulch fire, which had burned nearly 9,000 acres in the Olympic National Forest. Federal officials insist the investigation and arrests did not disrupt firefighting efforts.
However, Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., criticized the move, writing: “Trump has undercut our wildland firefighting abilities in more ways than one … To now apparently detain firefighters on the job. This administration’s immigration policy is fundamentally sick.”
