By SHAYLA ESCUDERO/ Lincoln Chronicle
A Texas-based company with a history of building camps to house National Guard troops on the Mexico border is looking to lease a portion of land at the Newport airport for a federal project that could be an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility.
The company told the city of Newport it wants to begin operating as soon as Dec. 1.
Just days after the inquiry by Team Housing Solutions, a local septic company was also asked for an estimate for a federal project in Newport that would need pumping for 5,000 to 10,000 gallons a day of sewage for three years. The septic company told the Lincoln Chronicle on Tuesday that amount could mean 500 to 1,000 people using the system.
Although the city of Newport has not received details from the Department of Homeland Security about the project, the Texas company’s inquiry caused officials to alert the community and work with state and federal representatives to stop the potential project in its tracks.
Newport received a letter Nov. 4 addressed to the city manager inquiring about leasing 4.3 acres adjacent to U.S. Coast Guard property at the airport for a federal project.
The letter came from Team Housing Solutions, a Texas-based company that specializes in quick projects including armories, security buildings, modular buildings, tents and other temporary housing.
“Tenant intends to utilize the property to support federal operations commencing at the Newport Municipal Airport on or around December 1, 2025,” according to the letter the Lincoln Chronicle obtained through a public records request.
The company said the property would be used for equipment and vehicle parking, placing temporary facilities like mobile office trailers, storage containers, generators “operational staging in support of the federal project.”
The site also needed to clear land and material would be laid to help create a surface. The facility would be encircled by a 12-foot fence, according to the letter, written by vice president of operations William Cavanaugh.
“This (letter of intent) is intended solely as a preliminary expression of mutual interest and is not a legally binding agreement,” the letter said. “No obligations will exist until a definitive lease agreement has been negotiated and executed by both parties.”
An assistant managing the phone number listed for Cavanaugh said he was away working on another project. Cavanaugh did not immediately respond to a request for comment via email. Immigration and Customs Enforcement also did not respond to requests for comment.
A Lincoln County septic company was also contacted Monday by someone who identified themselves as working on a federal project. The company shared the email with the Chronicle and asked that information about their business be withheld.
“I am working on a cost estimate for a federal project in Newport,” the message read. “Could you please let me know your estimated costs for the following activities? Sewage pumping for a holding tank for between 5,000 to 10,000 gallons per day for up to 3 years.”
A holding tank of that size would service an estimated 500 to 1,000 people, according to the company, which declined to give an estimate.
Team Housing Solutions, which was founded in 1995 has had contracts to house federal workers for decades. But more recently it has been 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.
The Texas Observer reported that Team Housing Solutions received over $825 million in no-bid purchase orders with the Texas Military Department to provide various shelters from makeshift camps to a permanent base.
What’s happening?
Word started circulating over the weekend that the Department of Homeland Security and ICE had their eye on airport or Coast Guard property in Newport, but it was unclear where the information originated. By Monday morning, local community and activist groups heard about it and some shared Facebook posts that have since been deleted.
The talk even made its way to several state and federal representatives and Gov. Tina Kotek’s office. Later that day, the city of Newport sent out its own press release, stating that Homeland Security was in the process of evaluating locations along the Oregon coast for a potential immigration facility and the its airport had been identified as a possible location.
If a large-scale detention center were to operate in Newport it would be the first of its kind in Oregon, which does not have a large-scale ICE detention center. Most detainees are temporarily held in Portland or Eugene before being moved to the main Northwest detention center in Tacoma.
The possible action comes in the wake of increased immigration enforcement in Oregon. In October, over 300 people were detained, according to Innovation Law Lab. On Saturday, at least five people were detained in Seaside and on Tuesday at least 16 people were detained in Salem.
Earlier this year, the New York Times reported that the Trump administration planned to increase mass deportation efforts by using military outposts around the country. At the time, Gov. Kotek and the Oregon Military Department said at the time they had no knowledge of any plans to do so in Oregon.
While it is unclear why Newport may be an advantageous location for a potential detention center, Rep. David Gomberg, D-Otis has a few ideas.
The Newport airport has an isolated airstrip and the federal government owns a portion of the land on the airport, Gomberg told the Chronicle on Tuesday.
“Newport sits at the confluence of Highway 101 and Highway 20 so it has easy access to the valley and the coast,” Gomberg said.
Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan heard concerns circulating since late last week about a possible facility but besides the letter of intent there haven’t been many details about the potential project.
“No one on the federal level is trying to inform us,” Kaplan said Tuesday., “It’s maddening.”
Before the city issued a press release on the subject Monday, Kaplan was already getting calls from community members. Since then, he has also received calls from people all over the state, vowing to never visit Newport again if a detention center is brought to the city. Kaplan believes a detention center in Newport would impact the local community and the city’s economy and tourism.
The city is scheduling a public meeting for 6 p.m. Wednesday at city hall for community members to discuss the issue. Go here to view it online.
“We want to know what our community is thinking, we want to hear and we want to document it,” Kaplan said.
Missing helicopter
The other big questions and concerns revolve around the fate of the U.S. Coast Guard helicopter that has been stationed at the airport for decades but is now used 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.
Despite a flurry of concerns from the Newport area, a spokesman for the Coast Guard in Washington, D.C. would confirm nothing to the Chronicle on Tuesday other than to issue a general statement.
“The Coast Guard continues to meet search and rescue mission demands on the Oregon coast in accordance with required response times,” the statement said. “We remain steadfastly dedicated to the safety and prosperity of the Pacific Northwest fishing fleet.”
But Gomberg said “Pulling the helicopter at the end of October without notice with the crabbing season could not have come at a worse time.”
The office of Rep. Val Hoyle, D-Ore. was equally in the dark Tuesday, saying it has been unable to determine if the helicopter’s move was temporary or permanent. As a state legislator, Hoyle was part of the major public effort in 2014 to keep a rescue helicopter in Newport after the Coast Guard proposed to close the air base because it was too expensive to operate.
At the time, the Coast Guard said a rescue helicopter from North Bend could respond to rescues off the central Oregon coast within a 1-2 hour timespan.
“What I’m hearing right now is terrifying, and, if true, wildly unacceptable,” Hoyle said in a statement to the Chronicle. “Just the idea that ICE might expand here by co-opting our search and rescue operation space and eliminating resources right before a busy crab season putting lives in danger is outrageous. Newport deserves transparency and a voice before Kristi Noem sets up shop in our backyard. I’m doing everything I can to get answers and hold DHS accountable.”
The city of Newport also issued a statement Tuesday that it was also in the dark about the helicopter’s status.
“As the home to Oregon’s largest commercial fishing fleet, the city of Newport remains committed to advocating for continued strong air and sea search-and-rescue capabilities on the central Oregon coast,” the city said in its statement.
“The city is working with local, state, and federal legislators to ensure that the Newport community is well-served by emergency response resources.”
- Lincoln Chronicle reporter Garret Jaros contributed to this report.
- Shayla Escudero covers Lincoln County government, education, Newport, housing and social services for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at Shayla@LincolnChronicle.org
