By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/Lincoln Chronicle
At least two companies are advertising to hire officers and a medical team to work at a possible federal immigration detention center at the Newport airport.
In addition, in a statement to the Lincoln Chronicle from the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said the agency was trying to bring “cost-effective detention spaces” to cities at “turbo speed” like Alligator Alcatraz, a controversial camp in the Florida Everglades. But the statement did directly confirm such an operation was planned in Newport.
City of Newport officials still had not received more detailed information Wednesday from Homeland Security before the start of a community meeting Wednesday night.
Also, four Democratic members of Oregon’s congressional delegation on Wednesday also sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem demanding answers – an action that has little success in the past.
Newport officials and other Oregon lawmakers have been scrambling since late last week to get more information about a possible detention center at the airport after receiving an inquiry Nov. 4 from a Texas company asking about leasing 4.3 acres adjacent to U.S. Coast Guard property for a federal project. Team Housing Solutions said it wanted to start work on the project as early as Dec. 1.
Other coastal cities such as Warrenton, Coos Bay, and North Bend which also have Coast Guard operations did not receive inquiries like the one that came to Newport, according to their city leaders.
According to email exchanges obtained in a public records request, Team Housing Solutions executives were willing to fly to a city council meeting Nov. 17 to discuss their plans, but have since dropped communication with the city.
Just days after the inquiry by the Texas company, a local septic company was asked for an estimate for a federal project in Newport that would need pumping for 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of sewage a day for three years. The septic company told the Chronicle on Tuesday that could mean 500 to 1,000 people using the system.
An ICE detention center would be the first of its kind in Oregon. Although Portland’s ICE facility has been a national spectacle for months for clashes between protestors and federal agents, it is only a temporary holding facility before people who are detained are moved to the Northwest detention center in Tacoma.
While it has yet to receive direct information from Homeland Security, the city is attempting to squash any chance of the project taking root in Newport and scheduled a special meeting Wednesday night to hear from the public.
Job advertisements
Adding to the evidence that Newport could be the site of a detention center, federal contractors were also advertising online for detention officers, transportation officers, clinical directors, nursing staff and a physician to work in Newport.
Asset Protection and Security Services, which boasts having the “Longest-Standing Detention Center Contractor with ICE” listed ads last week for detention officers and transportation officers to “provide care, custody, and control of those in ICE custody”.
Another company, Acuity International posted ads Friday seeking a medical team with the work address of the Newport airport. The positions included a clinic director, nursing staff, physician and infection prevention officer.
In a news release Wednesday, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis, said that every day there is more “credible evidence that our federal government is pushing to site an immigration detainment facility in our community.”
“And disturbingly, we are receiving no communications or confirmation from the federal government as to what they are planning,” Gomberg’s statement said. “They are operating in the shadows and trying to fast-track this project with zero transparency or public engagement.”
Homeland Security statement
The Chronicle had sought comment from Homeland Security this week about the possible project and received a response Wednesday from an agency public affairs officer.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Noem’s leadership, DHS is working at turbo speed on cost-effective and innovative ways to deliver on the American people’s mandate to arrest and deport the worst of the worst including gang members, pedophiles, terrorists, rapists, and murderers,” the statement said. “Secretary Noem is working with state and local governments to secure greater and more cost-effective detention space, like Alligator Alcatraz, Speedway Slammer, Louisiana Lockup and Cornhusker Clink.”
The spokesperson did not reply to follow up questions regarding confirmation that a detention center was planned for Newport.
The other big questions and concerns revolve around the fate of the Coast Guard helicopter that has been stationed at the airport for decades but is now manned by crews from and dispatched by the Coast Guard’s air station in North Bend.
The Coast Guard operates under the Department of Homeland Security. The helicopter was moved Oct. 31 to North Bend, but it is unclear whether that is temporary or permanent, whether it needs repairs or there are other operational issues.
The removal comes at the height of the dangerous crabbing season and government officials and advocacy groups are concerned about its absence but have not received answers about its removal.
Public records
The whole issue started Nov. 4 when Newport’s airport director received a call from Team Housing Solutions inquiring about leasing the vacant 4.3 acres of land. He told them the land was priced at $3 per square foot and that the city council must approve all leases.
Team Housing Solutions then sent a letter of intent with more details looking to lease the 4.3 acres adjacent to the Coast Guard property. The company said the property would be used for equipment and vehicle parking, placing temporary facilities like mobile office trailers, storage containers, generators and “operational staging in support of the federal project that would be enclosed by a 12-foot fence.
Team Housing Solutions has a history of large-scale temporary housing projects and the construction of base camps. The company is best known for sheltering National Guard troops near the U.S.-Mexico border as part of Texas Gov. Greg Abbot’s Operation Lone Star Mission, a large-scale effort to ramp up border security and immigration enforcement.
City staff asked for more details Nov. 5 and have not received a reply from the company since, according to records released Wednesday.
Delegation weighs in
As more information came to light Wednesday, Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley along with Representatives Val Hoyle and Suzanne Bonamici sent a letter demanding answers from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Among their demands were answering questions why the Coast Guard helicopter was moved 90 miles south to North Bend without notice to the community.
Other questions were if Homeland Security directed or approved moving any Coast Guard personnel from Newport and if an ICE detention facility is planned for Newport.
“ICE has already rounded up law-abiding members of our communities who present no threat to public safety, which has created fear among Oregon families,” they wrote. “Newport residents and small business owners remain extremely concerned about the social and economic consequences that will result from ICE enhancing its presence in the town and the surrounding areas.”
The city council’s 6 p.m. Wednesday special meeting can be viewed here. There will be a two-hour public comment period offering up to two minutes per individual before the councilors make statements.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
Once again I’d like to suggest that as many of you as possible contact ACLU of Oregon and ask for help dealing with this ice situation. They have a history of being quite successful at coming up the works.