Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., is demanding answers after U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents reportedly arrested two contractors working at a wildfire in Washington state on Wednesday.
The Seattle Times reported that officials required about 400 contractors helping battle the wildfire to identify themselves. KOMO-TV reported that two of those contractors were allegedly in the U.S. illegally, and one had an outstanding removal order.
The Department of Homeland Security disputed that the detained workers were firefighters. The agency said they were not actively fighting the fire but were assisting with firefighting efforts.
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"They were there in a support role, cutting logs into firewood. The firefighting response remained uninterrupted the entire time," Homeland Security said. "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."
Murray condemned the arrests and said she is “demanding immediate answers” from the Trump administration about conducting immigration enforcement during active wildfires.
"This administration’s immigration policy is fundamentally sick. Trump has wrongfully detained everyone from lawful green card holders to American citizens—no one should assume this was necessary or appropriate," Murray said. “Here in the Pacific Northwest, wildfires can, and have, burned entire towns to the ground. We count on our brave firefighters, who put their lives on the line, to keep our communities safe—this new Republican policy to detain firefighters on the job is as immoral as it is dangerous."
