Border Patrol detained two privately contracted firefighters on Washington's Olympic Peninsula after agents determined they were in the United States illegally. Officers were requested by forestry rangers to verify names on contractor firefighter rosters and identified several discrepancies. One detained individual had a prior order of removal. The Bureau of Land Management terminated contracts with two contractor firms and escorted 42 contractor firefighters off federal land. The two undocumented workers were arrested on charges of illegal entry and re-entry. Agents ordered about 44 firefighters to line up and produce identification and restricted filming as crews prepared to fight the 9,000-acre Bear Gulch Fire.
Two firefighters who were part of a crew trying to help put out a wildfire in the US state of Washington's Olympic Peninsula were taken into custody by United States Border Patrol agents, federal authorities said. The US Department of Homeland Security and the Border Patrol said in a statement on Thursday that border patrol agents found that two of the workers, who were hired by private firefighting contractors, were in the US illegally and detained them during the operation to put out the blaze.
US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said its officers were requested by forestry rangers to verify the names provided on contractor firefighter rosters. Several discrepancies were identified, and two individuals were found to be present in the United States illegally, one with a previous order of removal, CBP said in a statement. Authorities also said the US Bureau of Land Management terminated contracts with two contractor firms at the site and escorted their 42 firefighter staff off federal land.
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