Recommendations of the Editorial team
Federal officials arrested two firefighters on Wednesday-during a suspected immigration raid against first aiders who fought the current Bear Gulch forest fire in the US state of Washington. The arrests are made, although the Trump government continues to claim that Their nationwide campaign is primarily directed against criminals and gang members.
“How to treat us”
According to a report by the “Seattle Times”, a spokesman for the Incident Management team explained that the fire fought that one was “informed about an operation of the border patrol at the fire location”. Sources of the newspaper – including firefighters who wanted to remain anonymous, for fear of retaliation – reported that federal agents carried out identity controls for two commissioned teams for more than three hours.
“You risked your life here to save the community,” said a firefighter. “How to treat us.” He added that emergency services had been instructed not to record their interactions with the officials.
Another firefighter said that those arrested should not even have said goodbye to their comrades. “I asked if his family can say goodbye. Because they are a family. And they just tear him away,” he reported. The answer of an official was: “You have to disappear immediately. I will get you to do it.”
Break with previous guidelines
The use of immigration authorities in the event of an ongoing emergency- and against first aiders themselves- represents a significant break with previous guidelines of the Ministry of Homeland. The rule under President Biden: “Apart from exceptional circumstances, no immigration is carried out in places where disaster or emergency aid is performed.”
In a further step, the DHS has now instructed aid organizations and government agencies that receive federal funds not to provide emergency aid for undocumented migrants. The new guidelines reported on Wednesday for the first time by the “Washington Post” prohibit groups to “operate programs, benefit illegal immigrants or promote illegal immigration”.
Status examination before any help
The requirements oblige organizations to cooperate with ICE and immigration authorities. You must give civil servants access to presumably people who are obliged to leave out. And they are forbidden to “hide illegal foreigners. To hide. Or to protect against discovery”.
In plain language, this means that volunteer organizations and auxiliary services would have to check a person immigration status in the future before they can provide help in the event of a disaster – for example after flooding, vertebral storms or forest fires.
At the same time, the government has also lifted the previous protective guidelines that prevented ICE and other authorities from arresting migrants in hospitals, churches, schools or even hearing. For the Trump government, the places where marginalized communities are particularly vulnerable are preferred “hunting grounds”. To meet arrest quotas.