Democrats and their allies in the establishment media are falsely claiming that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have arrested a pair of “firefighters” in the sanctuary state of Washington. In actuality, the two men are not firefighters, but rather illegal aliens with past criminal records.
Last week, the establishment media ran wild with a story claiming that two firefighters were arrested by ICE agents in Bear Gulch, Washington, amidst an ongoing fire.
Jose Bertin Cruz-Estrada of Mexico, one of the illegal aliens arrested, has previously been charged with delivering and selling methamphetamine. Cruz-Estrada has been encountered by Border Patrol agents a total of 15 times.
Cruz-Estrada was ordered deported by a federal immigration judge in April 2015 and deported by ICE agents on February 27, 2016. After his last deportation, Cruz-Estrada crossed the southern border again on an unknown date.
The other illegal alien arrested by ICE agents was previously charged with illegally carrying a concealed weapon. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials told Breitbart News that the pair were not firefighters and had been working for a company that was involved in cutting firewood, not actively fighting the Bear Gulch fires.
The facts of the case did not stop Democrats from turning the arrests into a false talking point that the establishment media breathlessly picked up.
A headline from NBC News reads “Trump’s immigration crackdown sweeps up 2 firefighters battling a wildfire in Washington state,” while a piece from Reuters reads “Two firefighters held at Washington ICE detention center amid wildfire, US representative says.”
Democrats were quick to latch onto the unfounded claims.
“Donald Trump ran his campaign on sending out the worst of the worst,” Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson (D) wrote on X. “I’m not sure who’s more the best of the best than our firefighters, actively fighting the largest fire in Washington.”
Rep. Emily Randall (D-WA) did an interview with Reuters where she suggested that ICE agents were potentially trying to hide information from her regarding the arrests.
Rep. Andrea Salinas (D-OR) similarly posted on X that she had detailed knowledge of one of the illegal aliens arrested, continuously referring to him as a firefighter and omitting his criminal record.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Democrats on the Senate Energy Committee also repeated the false claim on their X accounts.
“This administration’s immigration policy is fundamentally sick. Trump has wrongly detained lawful green card holders and even CITIZENS,” Murray wrote. “No one should assume this was necessary. These firefighters put their lives on the line for us ALL and Trump is detaining them.”
“Arresting firefighters who are trying to save lives makes Americans LESS safe,” Democrats on the Senate Energy Committee posted to X.
DHS’s Tricia McLaughlin told Breitbart News that this instance is only the latest where the establishment media leaves out critical details of a story.
“The two illegal aliens apprehended were not ‘firefighters’ as the media claimed, nor were they responding to any active emergency — in fact, they were criminal illegal aliens,” McLaughlin said. “Both had prior arrests. One for drug trafficking and one for illegally carrying a firearm.”
“Once again, the media ran with a false narrative and left out the key details,” McLaughlin said. “When will the media stop peddling these false news stories to demonize our law enforcement?”
John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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