PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – One of the firefighters who was detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents while working on the Bear Gulch Fire in Washington last month has been released.
Oregon resident Rigoberto Hernandez Hernandez, 23, returned home on Sept. 23 after nearly four weeks in the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, according to a press release from his attorneys.
“I am glad that I am home, and I am excited to see my family,” Hernandez said in a statement provided by his lawyer.
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“I want to give my thanks to everyone—for their prayers, for the rallies, for sharing about what happened to me and the other firefighter,” he said. “So many people stepped up to help, and now I want to help others just like they helped me.”
Hernandez was one of two Oregon firefighters detained while working the Bear Gulch Fire on Aug. 27. The identity of the other firefighter and his whereabouts have not been released.
Lawyers representing Hernandez held a press conference Sept. 19, announcing they filed a petition in federal court for his release.
Hernandez applied for a U-visa in 2018 and has lived in the U.S. since he was 4 years old, according to his attorneys. He was raised in California, Oregon and Washington as his parents, who were migrant farmworkers, traveled for work.
At the time of his arrest, he was working his third season as a wildland firefighter, cutting down trees and vegetation to prevent the spread of fire.
KOIN has reached out to ICE for comment and will update this story when they respond.
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