The arrests of two wildland firefighters accused of working illegally in Washington state has sparked a new round of debate over the Trump administration's priorities about wildfires and immigration enforcement.
In videos shared widely on social media, federal immigration agents were recorded detaining two firefighters who were working on federal land in a remote area of the Olympic Peninsula. U.S. Border Patrol officials confirmed to USA TODAY that the men were arrested on immigration violations, while 42 other workers were released after being removed from the property.
Videos of the Aug. 27 incident posted to social media have drawn broad condemnation by Washington state residents upset that federal officials halted firefighters' work to check immigration paperwork. One of the videos showed the yellow-shirted men being handcuffed amid stacks of downed trees in the middle of a forest.
"Deeply concerned about this situation with two individuals helping to fight fires in Washington state. I've directed my team to get more information about what happened," Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson, a Democrat, said in a social media post.
The crews were not directly fighting the 9,000-acre Bear Gulch Fire, but were assisting in wildfire-prevention efforts in the area, and federal officials said the arrests did not affect ongoing firefighting. But some state officials say the immigration detentions raise questions about White House priorities at a time when many fire departments have struggled to adequately hire wildland firefighters.
