NEWPORT, OR – Suspecting the federal government plans to open a large-scale Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility near Newport’s airport early next year, the state of Oregon asked a federal judge to block construction.
Lawyers for the state sought an injunction from U.S. District Judge Ann Aiken in an amended complaint filed last week as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging the U.S. Coast Guard’s removal of a rescue helicopter from its Newport Municipal Airport facility in late October. They argued that the federal government is skirting federal environmental and coastal land use regulations which would require more notice for Oregon leaders should an ICE facility be constructed in the area.
“Defendants have engaged in these efforts behind closed doors, with no transparency or public process, ignoring direct requests for information from local officials and members of Congress,” the new filing reads. “As a result, the state has been forced to piece together defendants’ plans for the ICE detention facility based on public reporting, inquiries to and information from federal contractors, the second-hand account of a U.S. Coast Guard witness, and related evidence.”
Much of the evidence in Attorney General Dan Rayfield’s updated lawsuit has been previously reported. Jenny Hansson, a spokesperson for the Oregon Department of Justice, referred to the amended complaint in response to a request for additional information or evidence.
“We will not allow federal agencies to sidestep the law or build detention facilities where they don’t belong, including along our coast,” Rayfield said in a statement. “The federal government has to follow the same laws everyone else does when operating in our communities.”
Representatives for the homeland security department and ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit. On Monday, Newport’s lawyers filed a similar lawsuit in federal court asking a judge to require compliance with federal environmental regulations mandating impact assessments before any construction of an ICE detention facility in the city. The U.S. Coast Guard’s deed from 1992 for its Newport Municipal Airport facility specifically mentions its purpose as an aviation site, a purpose the suit says should be honored.
State attorneys, a local Newport-based fishing nonprofit and Lincoln County officials had sued for the rescue helicopter’s return from a base in North Bend in November ahead of a dangerous crabbing season in the coastal city, home to one of Oregon’s largest commercial fishing industries. The U.S. Coast Guard went on to station a rescue helicopter in Newport following a temporary court order for its return, and federal lawyers have since committed to leaving the helicopter in place until spring 2026.
Aiken on Monday, however, issued a broader preliminary injunction that ordered the chopper to remain at Newport’s Municipal Airport as the lawsuit over its relocation continues to play out. While Oregon’s two U.S. senators previously received written Dec. 12 promises from U.S. Coast Guard Admiral Kevin E. Lunday that the helicopter will stay at the city’s municipal airport, Lunday did not rule out more long-term changes to the Coast Guard’s Newport facility.
Oregon is one of a few states in the nation that does not have a large-scale, long-term immigration detention facility. People held by ICE in the state are allowed to be detained in processing facilities in cities such as Portland for up to 12 hours, often transferring to a center in Tacoma, Washington, for longer detentions.
According to the state’s updated lawsuit, though, ICE informed potential facility contractors that it would hold most detainees in Newport for less than 72 hours to avoid triggering federal rules regarding heightened space, services and standards of care. The suit alleges the federal agency then “acknowledged stays may exceed the 72-hour threshold, even though doing so would violate its own standards.”
In a Monday newsletter to his consituents, state Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, who represents Newport, praised the state’s move.
“Now we have a tool to do something. When all we have are rumors, we can’t plan and we can’t have a real dialogue that helps us convey our community’s concerns,” he wrote. “I hate that it took a lawsuit to get our government to simply talk to us.”
This story first appeared on Oregon Capital Chronicle.
