Lawyers for an Oregon firefighter who was taken into custody by U.S. Border Patrol agents while fighting a Washington state wildfire filed a petition in federal court Friday asking a judge to order his release from an immigration detention facility.
The firefighter, Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez, and another crew member were part of a group battling a major blaze in the Olympic National Forest when they were detained on August 27. Their arrest coincided with an investigation into the contractors employing them.
Lawyers with the Innovation Law Lab stated that Hernandez's arrest was illegal, as it ran counter to U.S. Department of Homeland Security policies that forbid immigration enforcement during emergency response operations.
The Bear Gulch Fire, one of the largest in Washington, had burned 29 square miles and was only 9% contained at the time. The Border Patrol justified the detention, asserting that the two men were working in the U.S. illegally, but did not disclose details about their investigation.
In response, Hernandez's attorney, Rodrigo Fernandez-Ortega, outlined that a habeas corpus petition and a temporary restraining order aimed at securing his release were filed in the Northwest ICE detention center in Tacoma, Washington.
Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin clarified via email that the detained individuals were not actual firefighters but were engaged in a supportive role, cutting logs into firewood. However, she emphasized that the firefighting operations were not disrupted.
Upon his initial detention, Hernandez was untraceable for 48 hours, causing significant concern for his family. He has since been held at the Tacoma facility.
Having grown up as the son of migrant farmworkers, Hernandez has been involved in wildland firefighting for three years, actively working to control the hazards posed by wildfires to communities. He has been waiting for a resolution regarding his U-Visa application, submitted in 2018 after receiving the necessary certification in 2017.
