An Oregon firefighter’s attorney, who was detained by the U.S. Border Patrol while fighting a Washington state wildfire, filed a petition in federal court Friday asking a judge to order him to be released from immigration detention centers.
Oregonian, Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandezanother firefighter was part of 44 people fighting the fire in the Olympic National Forest on August 27, when the Times agents detained them in a multi-political criminal investigation of two contractors.
Attorneys at the Innovation Law Lab said at a press conference that his arrest was illegal and violated the U.S. Department of Homeland Security policy, saying immigration enforcement should not be carried out where emergency responses occur.
The state’s largest Bear Gulch Fire burned 29 square miles on Friday, with 9% of them burning.
The Border Patrol said at the time that two workers were illegally detained in the United States. Federal authorities have not provided information about the investigation of the contractor.
Attorney Rodrigo Fernandez-Ortega said they filed a habeas truce petition and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order that sought the man’s release from the Northwest Ice Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington.
The two men are not firefighters — they are working to cut logs into the firewood, said in an email to the Associated Press.
“The fire response has been uninterrupted,” she said. “The U.S. Border Patrol’s actions have not stopped or interfered with anyone actively involved in the fire efforts.” A Border Patrol spokesman declined to comment, saying they do not comment on proactive or pending lawsuits.
Six Democratic Oregon Congress leaders issued a press release late Friday calling for the release of firefighters. “The Trump administration trampled on the due process rights of emergency responders, whose lives are the right to protect Oregonians’ safety,” said Sen. Jeff Merkley and four deputies. Arrests put the community at risk and Stoke fear.
back Hernandez Fernandez-Ortega said his lawyer was detained in August and could not find him for 48 hours, causing trouble for his family. They said he has been in the Tacoma facility ever since.
HernandezHis lawyer said that he was 23 years old and was the son of a migrant worker. He grew up in Oregon, Washington and California when he was at work. He moved to Oregon three years ago and began working as a field firefighter.
This is his third season as a field firefighter, “doing hard and dangerous work, cutting down trees and clearing vegetation to manage the spread of wildfires and protecting houses, communities and resources,” his attorney said.
Hernandez In 2017, the U.S. Attorney’s Office obtained U-VISA certification and submitted a U-VISA application with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service the following year. Congress has developed a U-VISA program to protect serious crime victims who assist federal investigators.
His lawyer said he has been waiting for an Immigration Agency decision to apply since 2018 and should be free in the process.
