Gov. Bob Ferguson of Washington said on Thursday that his office was demanding an explanation from federal officials for Border Patrol’s decision to arrest workers who were fighting a wildfire in the state.
Mr. Ferguson, a Democrat, said in a statement that he was “deeply concerned” that the Trump administration had targeted firefighters trying to contain the Bear Gulf fire in Olympic National Forest, west of Seattle. Firefighting officials said the Border Patrol’s operation on Wednesday, first reported by The Seattle Times, had not interrupted efforts to control the blaze.
In a separate statement, Border Patrol said its agents had made the arrests after the Bureau of Land Management asked for help verifying the identities of 44 people who were working on contractor crews near the fire. The agents identified two workers who were in the country illegally and arrested them, according to the statement.
The other 42 workers were escorted from the site.
President Trump’s signature domestic policy legislation, which was passed earlier this year, set aside $170 billion to boost enforcement of immigration laws, in part by hiring more immigration officers and increasing raids on workplaces. Mr. Trump has cast the effort as part of a broader attempt to reduce violent crime, which he claims is ruining life in major American cities, despite evidence that crime rates are down in many of the cities he has targeted.
Mr. Trump has made it clear that he considers no workplace exempt from immigration enforcement. But the arrests on Wednesday appeared to deviate from past government policy that made exceptions for people dealing with disasters like hurricanes, floods and earthquakes.
During the 2021 wildfire season, the Department of Homeland Security, under President Joe Biden, said that immigration enforcement would not be conducted in places where emergency relief was being provided, “absent exigent circumstances.” In the past, federal immigration agents have sometimes assisted firefighters with evacuation efforts.
The Bear Gulch fire was 13 percent contained as of Wednesday evening, officials said in an update. High temperatures and dry conditions have fueled what has been one of the worst wildfire seasons in the American West. Parts of Washington State were under a red flag warning early Thursday, and many roads, trails and campfires inside Olympic National Forest were closed.
Christine Hauser and Mike Ives contributed reporting.
Francesca Regalado is a Times reporter covering breaking news.
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