Published September 10, 2026 02:30PM<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reportedly arrested five men who were camping on public lands in Washington State over Labor Day Weekend. A U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson confirmed the arrests in a statement to Outside.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n According to a report from local news station King 5 Seattle<\/a>, five families spent the holiday weekend camping near Granite Falls, a town near the Mount Baker\u2013Snoqualmie National Forest, when they say several people approached them and identified themselves as U.S. Forest Service (USFS) rangers.<\/p>\n In an email to Outside<\/em>, a DHS spokesperson said that the five men were arrested during a joint operation with the USFS. Two of the men had previously been issued a voluntary return to Mexico, and a third had been arrested on driving-related charges, according to DHS. The other two men had \u201cillegally entered the country at an unknown time and place,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process,\u201d a DHS spokesperson told Outside.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n A report written on the GoFundMe<\/a> page described what happened during the encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cThey claimed there was an issue with garbage and told us they were giving us a \u2018warning,\u2019\u201d organizers wrote. \u201cBecause they presented the situation as a routine campsite issue, we felt comfortable cooperating with them. They told us they needed identification from every adult in our group. We provided our IDs because we believed we were simply cooperating with park officials regarding the garbage warning.\u201d<\/p>\n Around midnight, while the group was sleeping, immigration agents allegedly shook the families\u2019 tents and arrested five men. One of the individuals who had presented himself as a ranger earlier returned to the campsite with ICE, the families said. Outside<\/em> contacted the USFS and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office for comment, but did not receive a response in time for publication.<\/p>\n The families involved in the raid said they were targeted.<\/p>\n \u201cWe feel the garbage issue was not the real reason we were approached and that our families were targeted,\u201d the GoFundMe page continued. \u201cWe felt intimidated and harassed throughout this experience.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement sent to Outside<\/em>, the USFS said its law enforcement division routinely works with state, Tribal, and local agencies. Occasionally, USFS law enforcement also helps agencies that enforce immigration law, the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough Forest Service law enforcement officers and criminal investigators do not enforce immigration law, they collaborate with agencies that do,\u201d a spokesperson said. \u201cThese partnerships may involve checkpoints, patrols, or targeted enforcement efforts in areas where public safety and federal land management responsibilities intersect.\u201d<\/p>\n But critics say the Labor Day collaboration between the USFS and ICE crosses an ethical line.<\/p>\n Reuben S. Kerben, a managing attorney with New York City-based immigration firm Kerben Law Firm<\/a>, said the coordination around the Washington arrest represents a break from tradition.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the past, that sort of cooperation was very unusual,\u201d Kerben told Outside. <\/em>\u201cHowever, since the second Trump Administration, we\u2019ve seen the unusual become usual, and interagency collaborations have become something that\u2019s more commonplace.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement, Jackie Ostfeld, the director of the Sierra Club\u2019s Outdoors for All campaign, said the USFS needs to clarify to the public the role it plays in ICE operations.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is it using limited agency resources to help immigration agents target families on public land?\u201d Ostfeld said.<\/p>\n The alleged raid comes less than six weeks after ICE and USFS law enforcement made 13 arrests at the Wilson Creek Recreation Area<\/a> in North Carolina\u2019s Pisgah National Forest, the Charlotte Observer<\/em> reported<\/a>. Outdoor advocates like the Sierra Club say that bringing immigration enforcement into public recreation areas could discourage people<\/a> from visiting national forests and other outdoor spaces.<\/p>\n \u201cActions like this will cause families to think twice about taking their children camping if they believe those responsible for protecting the campground could potentially turn them over to immigration authorities,\u201d Ostfeld added.<\/p>\nThe Families Say They Feel Targeted<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Do Public Lands Agencies Work with ICE?<\/h2>\n