ICE, Forest Service and Caldwell County Sheriff Run Joint Operation at Wilson Creek in Pisgah National Forest, 13 Arrested; ICE Says the Forest Service Initiated Contact, the Forest Service Does Not Say

On Sunday, July 26 (operation date), ICE agents carried out a joint operation at Wilson Creek, a Wild and Scenic River area in North Carolina’s Pisgah National Forest, with the U.S. Forest Service and the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office. The operation resulted in 13 arrests.

Who started it is disputed. An ICE spokesperson said the Forest Service contacted ICE about an upcoming operation and asked whether ICE wanted to assist or coordinate. The Forest Service says it cooperates with law enforcement when requested; it neither confirmed nor denied giving ICE the notice, and said it could not share operational information.

The stated basis. A Forest Service spokesperson cited executive orders and Administration policies that mandate cooperation. The state’s Forest Supervisor later wrote that Forest Service law enforcement officers are “required to collaborate” with agencies that enforce immigration law, and that Forest Service law enforcement is managed independently of local leadership. None of these statements names a written agreement, directive or manual section; see the research note on the Forest Service written-policy search.

Function, not intent: whatever the origin of the contact, the operation used a Forest Service enforcement presence at a recreation site as the access point for an ICE arrest operation.