Federal officials confirmed that they targeted workers as part of the two companies’ criminal investigations.
Oregon’s giant California wildfires force evacuation
Firefighters are fighting wildfires as a rapid spread of evacuation and fuel fuel in California and Oregon.
The arrest of two wild firefighters accused of working illegally in Washington sparked new debate over the Trump administration’s priorities regarding wildfires and immigration enforcement.
A widely shared video on social media records federal immigration agents detaining two firefighters who worked on federal lands remotely on the Olympic Peninsula. US Border Patrol officials confirmed to USA Today that the man was arrested for immigration violations, but were released after 42 other workers were removed from the property.
A video of the August 27 incident posted on social media sparked widespread criticism by Washington residents, confusing federal officials to halt firefighters’ jobs to check immigration documents. One video shows a man in a yellow shirt being handcuffed in a mountain of fallen trees in the middle of the forest.
“Two individuals who are helping to fight the fire in Washington state are deeply concerned about this situation. I have directed the team to get more information about what happened,” Democrat Gov. Bob Ferguson said in a social media post.
The crew had not directly fought the 9,000-acre bear fires, but they were supporting wildfire intake efforts in the area. Federal officials said the arrests would not affect the ongoing fire service. However, some state officials say they are raising questions about the White House priorities when many fire departments struggled to properly hire wild firefighters.
Sen. Washington, a Democrat, said the arrests reflect misguided priorities. “The administration’s immigration policy is essentially a disease. Trump mistakenly detained even legal green cardholders and citizens.
President Donald Trump has pledged to be the largest deportation in history, and federal statistics show that many of those detained for deportation have no criminal history except for immigration violations. As of August 10, approximately 30% of immigrant detainees have been criminally convicted, which can include traffic violations, according to the latest record access clearinghouse analysis of federal data.
Federal officials confirmed to USA Today that they targeted workers as part of a criminal investigation into two companies that provide Wildland firefighters: Table Rock Forestry Inc. and ASI/Arden Solutions Inc.
The company apparently had been working on a contract with the Federal Bureau of Land Management. The Trump administration is shrinking the federal workforce, including thousands of people who hold the “red cards” needed to fight the Wildland fires, and private fire contractors have long supported the community by removing brushes and other fire hazards.
“BLM has worked with the U.S. Forest Service to request the assistance of the U.S. Border Patrol after the work contracts with the two companies were fired,” a U.S. Border Patrol official said in a statement. “The USBP agent supported the BLM ranger in verifying the identity of the contractor. Several inconsistencies were identified and two individuals were found to be illegally present in the United States.
Federal officials did not immediately answer questions about why the companies were targeted. Federal court records show there are no pending criminal cases. The identities of the two men were not released by federal officials. He said one of the men had been ordered to leave the United States earlier. Neither Tablelock Forest nor Arden Solutions returned phone messages left on August 28th.
“This collaborative effort highlights coordination between federal agencies to ensure integrity in government operations and maintain public confidence in the fiduciary issue,” USBP Brain Sector chief patrol agent Rosario P. Vazquez said in a statement. “The US Border Patrol has firmly enforced US laws and has not addressed immigration law violations where they have been encountered.”
Wildfire forecasters are forecasting normal fire conditions for most of the West over the coming weeks. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the latest available date, Wildfire Starts, is 120% of the average, with states like Colorado having some of the worst wildfires in history.
