Border Patrol Arrests Mexican Firefighters Battling Washington Wildfire
Wildfires already stretch communities and resources to the limit. This week, the crisis deepened when immigration enforcement entered the fire zone itself. U.S. Border Patrol agents arrested two Mexican contract firefighters working in Washington’s Olympic National Forest, sparking outrage from state leaders, advocates, and fellow crew members.
Border Patrol shows up at the fire line
According to NBC News, two crews of 44 people were staged near Lake Cushman around 9 a.m. Wednesday, preparing to work on the Bear Gulch fire. Crew boss David Diaz said Border Patrol trucks suddenly appeared and detained two men. The agents accused both firefighters of being in the U.S. illegally.
“They could have done this in a more humane way,” Diaz told NBC. He added it was the first time in his 26 years fighting fires that immigration agents had shown up at an active wildfire. Diaz recalled recognizing one of the trucks from earlier in the week, when he felt the crew was being followed around town.
Videos shared by Diaz on social media appeared to show Border Patrol agents lining up crew members and detaining the two men.
Washington officials condemn the arrests
The Bear Gulch fire has burned nearly 9,000 acres since it started on July 6. By last Thursday, it was 13% contained, according to the incident command. With crews already strained, Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson said he was “deeply concerned about this situation with two individuals helping to fight fires in Washington state.”
Democratic Sen. Patty Murray went further, calling the Trump administration’s approach “fundamentally sick.” In a statement reported by CBS News, 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.”
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden also denounced the arrests after learning one of the detained men was from his state. “It is outrageous that the U.S. Border Patrol unlawfully detained the brave individuals who are protecting us,” lawyer Rodrigo Fernandez-Ortega, representing one of the men, told CBS.
Border Patrol says it was part of an investigation
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that the arrests came after the Bureau of Land Management asked the agency to verify the identities of contract crew members. CBP said one of the men had a prior removal order. The agents took both to the Bellingham station on charges of illegal entry and reentry.
The contracts with their employers, Oregon-based Table Rock Forestry Inc. and Idaho-based ASI Arden Solutions Inc., were terminated. CBP added that “the contract termination and enforcement action did not interfere with firefighting operations or the response to any active fires in the area.”
But Diaz and union representatives said the action rattled the crews. “There’s already a lack of resources,” Diaz said. He also warned that removing trained firefighters could make future wildfires “get out of hand, bigger than what anyone expects.”
A turning point in immigration enforcement?
Immigration arrests at natural disasters were previously restricted. During the Biden administration, DHS declared that enforcement would not take place at “sensitive locations” like schools, churches, or disaster zones. According to NBC News, President Trump rescinded those protections earlier this year.
“This is the first time this has happened in all my 26 years,” Diaz said. “We’ve been followed the whole time.”
Washington’s Commissioner of Public Lands Dave Upthegrove told CBS that the administration’s “crude and inhumane approach to immigration enforcement has intentionally and unnecessarily stoked fear and mistrust among members of the public, including firefighters putting their lives on the line.”
The arrests have now left more questions than answers about how immigration enforcement will intersect with disaster response in the future.
