(Los Angeles) The arrest by the immigration police of two firefighters involved in the fight against a vast fire in the northwest of the United States caused a controversy on Thursday, some Democrats denouncing an “absurd” act.
The arrest, which took place WaShington State Wednesday on Wednesday, was confirmed by the border protection agency (CBP). His agents arrested “two people” who “were in an irregular situation”, during an intervention where they checked the identity of 44 firefighters, according to a statement.
According to the Seattle Timesthe two arrested firefighters belonged to private companies hired by the authorities to help fight the Bear Gulch Fire, a forest fire that has been burning since early July and has ravaged more than 3,600 hectares on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.
“We risked our lives here to save the population and this is how they treat us,” regretted a firefighter with daily life, under the guise of anonymity.
The operation “did not hamper fire -fighting operations or the response to active fires in the region,” said the border protection agency.
The police intervened because the contracts between the federal government and the two companies concerned “were terminated following a criminal investigation,” the Federal Agency said, without further details on the suspicions of these companies.
The intervention was fiercely criticized by the Democrats in the region on Thursday, who saw it as proof of the excess of the anti-immigration offensive led by Donald Trump since his return to the White House.
Bob Ferguson, the Washington State Democratic Governor, said he was “deeply concerned” on X, and asked his services to “collect more information on what happened”.
“The immigration policy of this administration is fundamentally to vomit,” denounced the senator from Washington’s state, Patty Murray. “No one should consider it necessary. These firefighters risked their lives for all of us and Trump imprisoned them. »»
“There are no words to describe this cruelty,” added his sister to the House of Representatives, Pramila Jayapal. “It is absurd and totally contrary to the interests of the United States. »»
