Forest Service Rangers Helped ICE Detain a Group of Campers. Now, Congress Wants Answers.

A group of visitors were camping in Washington’s Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest over Labor Day weekend when several people who identified themselves as U.S. Forest Service rangers approached their site. The rangers told the campers that they were receiving a warning for storing garbage improperly, and asked for their IDs.

Several hours later, the campers woke up to a team of ICE agents shaking their tents. The agents took five adult men from the group into custody; in a statement to Outside shortly after the arrests, ICE claimed that the five men were in the country without authorization or had violated the rules of their residency. Notably, ICE said that the arrests happened as part of an operation coordinated with the USFS—a break from business as usual for a law enforcement agency that had only rarely worked directly with immigration authorities in the past.

Now, a group of U.S. representatives is demanding answers. This month, 12 members of Congress sent a letter to Forest Service Chief Tom Schultz, asking him to explain his agency’s policies on collaborating with immigration arrests and questioning why the agency would divert time and money to support immigration enforcement when public lands are more under-resourced than ever. Among other questions, the letter requests that Schultz detail any agreements the USFS has for sharing visitor and reservation data with ICE and list all immigration actions that Forest Service rangers have taken part in.

In an email to Backpacker, a spokesperson for the USFS confirmed Schultz had received the letter, and said that while Forest Service law enforcement officers don’t enforce immigration laws themselves, “they collaborate with agencies that do.” “These partnerships may involve checkpoints, patrols, or targeted enforcement efforts in areas where public safety and federal land management responsibilities intersect,” the USFS wrote. “Such operations can be initiated in response to criminal investigations, public safety concerns, or resource protection priorities.”

The letter’s signatories mostly represent areas in the Pacific Northwest and were organized by Rep. Emily Randall, a Democrat from western Washington. Randall’s office noted to Backpacker that the incident over Labor Day wasn’t the first time ICE has targeted people camping and working on public lands: Just weeks before those arrests, the agency detained 13 people after setting up a roadblock on the way to a popular zone in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, again in cooperation with the Forest Service.

A year prior to that, ICE arrested two contract firefighters while they battled the Bear Gulch blaze on the Olympic Peninsula, in Randall’s district. One of the men, 23-year-old Rigoberto Hernandez, was released from immigration detention two months later. Immigration authorities deported the other, 35-year-old José Bertín Cruz-Estrada, to Mexico. Those arrests drew sharp backlash from both Randall and Washington Senator Patty Murray, who called detaining firefighters from the line “immoral as it is dangerous” and “fundamentally sick.”

“The Forest Service is facing a myriad of crises: increased natural disasters like wildfires, deteriorating infrastructure, and a shrinking workforce—all exacerbated by the Trump administration’s budget and staffing cuts,” the letter’s signatories wrote. While they expressed gratitude for the Forest Service’s work fighting fires in the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere, they said that the agency’s recent actions represented a “dramatic shift” from its work increasing access to public lands for visitors from various backgrounds and supporting the outdoor recreation economy.

Funny how the notion of "The whole of government" was a much sought after action plan during Biden. Not so much now.

Here's the Rogue's Gallery that sent the letter. Yes, it's a shocking list!

Bonamici, Suzanne (D-OR-1)
DelBene, Suzan K. (D-WA-1)
Espaillat, Adriano (D-NY-13)
Hoyle, Val (D-OR-4)
Huffman, Jared (D-CA-2)
Jayapal, Pramila (D-WA-7)
Larsen, Rick (D-WA-2)
Randall, Emily (D-WA-6)
Salinas, Andrea (D-OR-6)
Schrier, Kim (D-WA-8)
Smith, Adam (D-WA-9)
Strickland, Marilyn (D-WA-10)

Here's the letter text:

We write to seek much-needed transparency regarding immigration enforcement activities on Forest Service lands. As Members of Congress representing the Pacific Northwest and Democratic leadership of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, the House Natural Resources Committee, and the House Agriculture Committee, we are concerned that the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) is misusing taxpayer dollars by neglecting their mission and directing career staff to prioritize immigration enforcement on federal public lands. Particularly during a difficult wildfire season, we want to express our gratitude to the Forest Service for fighting wildfires in the Pacific Northwest and across the country.
The mission of the Forest Service is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. However, over Labor Day weekend, USFS Law Enforcement Officers (LEO) reportedly took photographs of the identification of Washington families who were camping in the Mount Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest and issued tickets to the families for alleged violation of park rules. Hours later, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived at the campsite with the LEOs, woke up the sleeping families by shaking their tents, and arrested five men who were later separated from their families and placed in immigration detention. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed that the five men were arrested during a joint operation with the USFS.
The Forest Service is facing a myriad of crises: increased natural disasters like wildfires, deteriorating infrastructure, and a shrinking workforce—all exacerbated by the Trump administration’s budget and staffing cuts. Redirecting strained resources away from pressing natural resources, recreation and land management priorities, and towards immigration enforcement undermines the Forest Service’s mission to care for the land and serve people. In recent years, the Forest Service has prioritized increasing access for public lands users from all backgrounds and tourism has brought an economic boost to surrounding communities. However, the recent immigration raids on National Forest System lands as well as the August 2025 immigration raid on wildland firefighters at the Bear Gulch fire have shown a dramatic and concerning shift in agency policy regarding immigration enforcement and cooperation with ICE. There have been reports of similar immigration enforcement at Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina, which raises concerns that USFS is spending precious resources on immigration enforcement which is not fundamental to USFS’ mission or operations.
To further our understanding of the joint operation conducted by USFS and ICE, please answer the following questions as soon as possible, but no later than October 15, 2026.
Questions for the U.S. Forest Service:
Which agency first identified those arrested as targets for investigation, when were they identified, and what information about the targets was used to justify the raid?
Can you confirm that the law enforcement officers that first approached the families were employees of the USFS?
To what extent did USFS participate in the raid, and under what authority? Please provide any agreement or memorandum that governs cooperation between the U.S. Forest Service and DHS.
Please provide any agreement or memorandum between the U.S. Forest Service and DHS that governs the collection and sharing of visitors' identification and reservation data with DHS or ICE.
What other immigration raids has the U.S. Forest Service participated in since January 21, 2025?
What appropriations account(s) has the USFS used to fund its participation in immigration enforcement operations since January 21, 2025, and how much funding has been obligated or expended for this purpose?
Has any USFS law enforcement personnel time, budget, or resources been reallocated from other law enforcement priorities (e.g., resource protection, search and rescue, wildfire-adjacent enforcement) to support immigration enforcement operations? If so, how much of this reallocation has been disclosed to Congress since these funds were appropriated for land management and resource protection purposes rather than immigration enforcement?
Given limited agency resources, why is it a priority of the USFS to use employees in the targeting of families on public land?
We are asking the USFS to reprioritize their efforts to support its mission of being trusted stewards of our public lands. Thank you for your prompt attention to this important matter.

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