This story was originally posted on MyNorthwest.com
An Oregon firefighter who was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol (USBP) while battling the Bear Gulch Fire near Lake Cushman has been released from federal custody.
Rigoberto Hernandez, 23, was detained on August 27 and transferred to the Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma. Hernandez returned home Tuesday after immigration attorneys filed a federal petition challenging the arrest.
“They had arrested him simply because he refused to answer their questions,” Matt Adams, legal director with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project, said. “This was despite the fact that he was targeted while working on an active wildfire.”
Oregon firefighter has pending U-Visa application
Adams said Hernandez has lived in the U.S. since he was four years old and has a pending U-Visa application, which provides protection for victims of crimes who assist law enforcement.
The arrest occurred during a multi-agency operation targeting two firefighting contractors whose federal contracts were later terminated. In a statement following the arrest, USBP said its agents were called in to assist the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in a criminal investigation.
BLM confirmed that the arrests were part of an identity verification effort, but immigrant rights advocates argued the operation was unlawful and disruptive to emergency response efforts.
“It’s very sad that it took this lawsuit being filed for the government to finally recognize that there was no justification to arrest him in the first place,” Adams said. “This had nothing to do with protecting the community or protecting the welfare of our society.”
A second firefighter was also arrested during the operation. His status remains unknown. KIRO Newsradio has reached out to Immigration and Customs for comment.
The Bear Gulch Fire burned nearly 20,000 acres as of Wednesday and was 5% contained.
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