Firefighter Arrested by Border Patrol While Fighting Washington Wildfire
Lawyers are demanding the release of a longtime Oregon resident who was arrested by Border Patrol while fighting a wildfire in Washington state. The firefighter, whose name has not been made public, has lived in the U.S. for 19 years and was on track for legal status after helping federal investigators solve a crime against his family.
According to his lawyers, the arrest was illegal and violated Department of Homeland Security policies that prohibit immigration enforcement at locations where emergency responses are happening. The firefighter had received a U-Visa certification from the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Oregon in 2017 and submitted his U-Visa application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services the following year.
Background and Circumstances of the Arrest
The U-Visa program was established by Congress to protect victims of serious crimes who assist federal investigators. The firefighter has been waiting since 2018 for the immigration agency to decide on his application. His lawyers argue that charging him with an immigration violation was an “illegal after-the-fact justification” given his U-Visa status.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that it had been helping the Bureau of Land Management with a criminal investigation into two contractors working at the fire when it discovered two firefighters who they said were in the country without permanent legal status. However, the firefighter’s lawyers claim that he is one of two firefighters arrested while working on the Bear Gulch Fire in the Olympic National Forest.
Reaction and Response
Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden criticized the Border Patrol’s operation, saying that it is more concerned about conducting raids on fire crews than protecting communities from catastrophic fires. Wyden emphasized that firefighters put their lives on the line and that the last thing they need is to be worried about their due process rights being trampled.
Wildfire officials are still trying to get control of the Bear Gulch Fire, which has burned about 14 square miles and was only 13% contained as of Friday. The number of personnel working on the blaze was listed at 303 on Friday, down from 349 on Thursday.
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