Fifty members of Congress, including several Washington Democrats, are calling on the Department of Homeland Security for answers after two crew members fighting the Bear Gulch fire were arrested by immigration officials.
Two people fighting the fire on the Olympic Peninsula were arrested by federal law enforcement Wednesday, as depicted in photos and videos. The two firefighters had entered the U.S. illegally, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said Thursday in a news release.
The 9,200-acre wildfire is one of Washington’s largest. The crews, pictured wearing protective clothing and hard hats common on fire lines, were part of the 300-person effort to contain the fire, which started July 6 about 10 miles northwest of Hoodsport, Mason County.
“The two arrests and dozens of firefighters temporarily sidelined during an active wildfire raise questions about the priorities and (judgment) exercised by federal agencies,” reads the letter, spearheaded by U.S. Rep. Emily Randall. Randall’s congressional district includes the Olympic Peninsula, where the fire is burning.
The lawmakers specifically seek clarification on Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies regarding arrests in disaster areas. The letter claims standard emergency protocols “shield first responders” who are working in hazardous conditions from ICE. The lawmakers say those protocols weren’t followed.
“The arrest of these hardworking crew members, who put their lives on the line to perform lifesaving duties, is not making our communities safer, no matter the rhetoric you use on TV,” the lawmakers said. “The Trump Administration’s thoughtless and cruel immigration enforcement at any cost undermines coordinated emergency response efforts.”
Archive link: https://archive.is/tIXnq
The aftermath of the arrests and subsequent outrage saw the Department of Homeland Security claim Friday that the two arrested were not technically firefighters because they were cutting wood.
“The two contracted work crews questioned on the day of their arrests were not even assigned to actively fight the fire; they were there in a support role, cutting logs into firewood,” the Friday post to X reads. “The firefighting response remained uninterrupted the entire time.”
Semantics, they were cutting said wood to prevent fire spread. If fire spreads in that area now, it’s fully on them
They think that firefighters only extinguish flames, what a bunch of bull
That is the type of rules lawyering that would make a judge laugh at your face
If you have a Trump sticker and a Thin Red Line sticker you can fuck right off to hell.
I thought thin red line is firefighters…?
They’re saying that if you have both a Trump and a Thin Red Line sticker, because Trump doesn’t care about firefighters
It is. Thin blue line is for cops.
Personally, I think the flag worship is weird and gross but I give the red line ppl a pass.
Oh this is where they draw the line (or pretend to at least)?
