On Friday night, a text from a relative reached my phone. This wasn’t out of the ordinary. He’s recently come to appreciate texting as a means to express his frustrations, especially towards me. The content of the message was similarly expected. It was a tirade about “fascist Trump.” According to him, Trump had dispatched his stormtroopers to Washington State, where they supposedly removed two courageous firefighters from combatting a forest fire. He cried out, “Fascist! They’re pulling firefighters away from fighting fires! How many children and puppies will suffer because of Trump?!”

This relative firmly aligns with leftist ideologies. I have no clue where he gets influenced. I could make a few guesses. Perhaps it’s merely his own mental specters, but he’s not isolated in his views. Politicians who should know better spread misleading information and partial truths to stir up their followers. Gavin Newsom has been campaigning with claims that Trump intends to “cancel” the 2026 elections.

After receiving the message from my relative (accompanied by a deep sigh), I decided to investigate the actual events. According to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release:

Due to the secluded setting of the work area, BLM sought USBP’s help to verify the identities of all present personnel. The workforce, consisting of 44 people, required identity confirmation to ensure those on-site matched the contractor lists.

…

USBP agents assisted BLM rangers in confirming the identities of the contracted workers. Several discrepancies emerged, revealing two individuals illegally present in the United States, one with a prior removal order. These two were subsequently arrested and taken to the Bellingham Station for illegal entry and violation of 8 US Code 1326 – Reentry of removed aliens. The remaining forty-two individuals were dismissed from the area and guided off Federal lands.

This contract termination and enforcement action did not disrupt firefighting activities or the response to any active fires locally, nor did it endanger the surrounding population.

Border Patrol had been alerted that those illegal aliens had been hired by an independent, third-party contractor based in Oregon. They were “firefighters” on paper but neither were fighting fires. Border Patrol checked records, and the contractor’s records didn’t match the people on site. Officials found two guys who had entered the US illegally and detained them. 

Those two were not out on the fire line stopping a fire. They weren’t saving babies. They weren’t rescuing puppies. They were chopping wood. Those two were detained and transported to a detention center. But legacy media turned the narrative into CBP and ICE pulling heroes away from the front lines. My relative bought that myth, like every myth he’s consumed since Trump was sworn in.  

Dem politicians are fond of pouring gas on the fire. They are also fond of lying. 

One of the firefighters arrested is an Oregonian. My office has been in touch with his lawyer @thinklawlab who says he can’t locate his client. My office is working to get more information on his whereabouts ASAP. https://t.co/JFlTgYjscd

— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) August 28, 2025

The reality is always hidden by legacy media, usually in the paragraphs at the end of an article or in the lede. The AP reported the story and included a photo of firefighters in the middle of a blaze. For the two detained illegals, that’s not remotely what happened.  

What is the truth? Time will inform us, but one detained illegal alien had an order of removal. Thus one of the wood-choppers had a pending order of removal, so that leave us, with one. The other guy? Sure, he was brought to the U.S. by his illegal alien parents at the age of four, but why hasn’t he gone through the proper channels to, at least, get some legal status?  

His lawyer claims his client is a victim of bureaucracy. He’s a victim:  

“Our client submitted a U Visa application in 2018 after he and his family were victims of a federal crime,” he said. “They cooperated with law enforcement in the investigation of that federal crime, and they’ve been waiting now for over seven years for USCIS to adjudicate that U visa.” 

The lawyer won’t tell us if his client got “deferred status.” Why? You can take your own guess, but mine is, 100 percent his client doesn’t have “deferred status.”

The lawyer added some sympathy points- that his client lives in Oregon and graduated from high school.  

Ok… so?  More Dem pols jumped in. U.S. Rep. Andrea Salinas, D-Oregon, District 6 said in a statement: 

ICE detained two firefights who were working to stop a wildfire. These people are risking their lives to keep communities safe. How does this make Americans safer? Every day this Administration finds a new way to show how backward and inhumane it is.

No, they weren’t.

Can I tell my relative these “facts”? Of course not. He told me years ago that he didn’t want to hear my “facts.”

Cults are like that.