An Oregon firefighter who has lived in the United States since childhood was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol while working to contain a massive wildfire in Washington. Lawyers say the man, an immigrant on track for legal status, was detained in violation of Homeland Security policy, even as crews risked their lives battling the Bear Gulch fire.
Attorneys say the arrest violates Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies that bar immigration enforcement at emergency response sites.
The Bear Gulch fire, burning in Olympic National Forest, had spread across about 14 square miles as of Friday. Officials reported the blaze was only 13% contained, prompting evacuations in the area.
The man arrested has not been publicly identified. He has lived in the United States for 19 years, arriving with his family at the age of four.
According to Stephen Manning, an attorney with Innovation Law Lab in Portland, the firefighter received a U-visa certification from the U.S. attorney’s office in Oregon in 2017 after helping investigators solve a crime against his family. He submitted his U-visa application the following year and has been waiting since 2018 for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process it.
Congress created the U-visa program to provide protection for victims of serious crimes who assist federal investigators. DHS policy also states that individuals receiving or applying for victim-based immigration benefits cannot be detained. According to The Guardian, Manning said charging his client with an immigration violation amounted to “an illegal after-the-fact justification.”
Border Patrol’s Version of Events
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said Thursday that agents were helping the Bureau of Land Management with a criminal investigation into two contractors at the fire when they encountered two individuals they determined were in the country without permanent legal status.
A senior DHS official said Friday that the two men were not firefighters actively battling the blaze.
“The firefighting response remained uninterrupted the entire time,” the statement said, per The Guardian. “No active firefighters were even questioned, and U.S. Border Patrol’s actions did not prevent or interfere with any personnel actively engaged in firefighting efforts.”
Officials say the men were instead providing support by cutting logs into firewood.
Fallout and Escalating Questions
The Guardian adds that the Bureau of Land Management declined to explain why contracts with two companies were terminated, resulting in 42 firefighters being escorted away from the Bear Gulch fire.
“These law enforcement professionals contribute to broader federal enforcement efforts by maintaining public safety, protecting natural resources, and collaborating with the agencies, such as the Border Patrol,” Interior Department spokesperson Alyse Sharpe said in an email.
Lawyers confirmed Friday that they located their client in the immigration detention system and made contact. They are demanding his immediate release.
Political Response
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, condemned the arrests in a letter to federal officials and said the enforcement action undermined crews who risk their lives protecting communities.
“The last thing that wildland firefighter crews need is to be worried about masked individuals trampling their due process rights,” Wyden said in an email to the Associated Press.
Wyden also noted that an Oregon firefighter had died on Sunday while battling a separate wildfire in southwestern Montana. He pointed to that loss as evidence of the dangers wildland crews face while working in catastrophic fire conditions.
Even as legal and political debates unfold, fire crews remain focused on containing the Bear Gulch fire. The number of personnel assigned dropped from 349 on Thursday to 303 on Friday, according to officials. Evacuations remain in effect for nearby communities.
