Oregon
Is a secret ICE detention facility in the works for Newport? Clues reveal scope of Oregon coast federal project
State and federal lawmakers say they’ve been kept in the dark about a possible U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement facility at the Newport Municipal Airport — but emerging clues point to the project’s potential scale.
Public job postings for “detention officers” based in Newport, a request for septic tank services and a bid to lease four vacant acres at the airport all suggest ICE is planning to build a detention facility, elected officials say.
In a statement, Gov. Tina Kotek said the federal government “continues to refuse to share their plans” with her or the public.
“While information is limited at this time, I oppose spending taxpayer dollars on an unwanted and unnecessary additional ICE detention facility in Newport, or any part of the state,” Kotek said.
On Wednesday, four members of Oregon’s congressional delegation sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem asking her to share the department’s plans and questioning the decision to move a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter stationed at Newport.
The letter argues that establishing a detention facility in Newport would be “deeply misguided” and could disrupt the tourism and fishing industries that are so important to the city of 10,000.
“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,” says the letter, signed by Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici and Val Hoyle, all Democrats.
ICE and the Coast Guard didn’t immediately respond to inquiries.
Noem, as secretary of homeland security, controls the Coast Guard, which owns a helicopter base at the airport.
State Rep. David Gomberg, a Democrat who represents the city, said a Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, used for water rescues and other missions, was quietly redeployed to a different base, about 100 miles south of Newport, at the end of October.
“They pulled the helicopter out without any notice just when the weather is turning bad and the crab season is beginning,” Gomberg said in an interview. “People will potentially die because of that decision.”
Job postings first identified by Oregon Public Broadcasting show Asset Protection & Security Services, a Texas-based contractor, is looking to hire detention officers to “provide care, custody and control of those in ICE custody” in Newport.
Other ads posted by Acuity International, a Virginia contractor, seek applicants for a variety of health-care jobs in Newport, including registered nurses, behavioral-health technicians and an infection-prevention officer.
Dan Brammer, an Acuity employee, sent a request Monday to a Lincoln County septic company, saying that an unidentified “federal project” will require pumping services for 5,000 to 10,000 gallons of sewage a day, for as long as three years, according to screenshots reviewed by The Oregonian/OregonLive.
The request also sought pricing for portable toilets and handwashing stations. Brammer and the septic business owner, Angie Ware, declined to comment.
Separate from the helicopter base, a Texas contractor known for being able to quickly set up military housing is looking to lease the four acres of vacant land, records show.
Newport’s city council has made no decision regarding the request to lease the four acres of undeveloped land at the city-owned airport, which is located about three miles south of downtown,
The seven-person council is set to discuss the issue at a special meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday.
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Gov. Tina Kotek’s commitment to boosting prosperity through economic development is encouraging, and I hope her efforts are successful, (“Oregon’s governor unveiled a ‘roadmap’ to business prosperity. Here’s what’s at stake,” Dec. 2). Too often, Oregon’s leading industries and businesses hear platitudes on the importance of economic development only to witness actions that dilute economic development funds, which provide high returns on investment.
Oregon hospitality and leisure is the third-largest private employer sector, creating more than 200,000 jobs and generating $14 billion in annual economic activity – driven in part by state and local lodging taxes.
The state’s 1.5% lodging tax raises approximately $40 million a year and is reinvested in economic development, including tourism promotion and related infrastructure. But some state lawmakers are trying to increase the tax and divert the additional revenue for things without economic benefits – things which should be paid for with general funds. Worse yet, there are efforts to change how county and city lodging taxes are distributed.
State and local lodging taxes are designed to be an economic development tool, and the current system has proven itself – a $40 million investment at the state level and hundreds of millions at local levels for a $14 billion return.
The economic headwinds facing Oregon’s economy are fierce. We should be laser focused on creating the strongest multiplier effect we can with these finite economic development resources. If lawmakers care about Oregon’s economic prosperity, they will abandon these harmful proposals in the upcoming session, and the governor should rebuke any efforts contrary to the goals of her economic development roadmap.
Jason Brandt
Brandt is president and CEO of the Oregon Restaurant and Lodging Association
To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
The No. 5 Oregon Ducks thrive on establishing the run before unveiling their explosive plays, and this season is no different with an offensive line that’s a finalist for the coveted Joe Moore Award given to the nation’s best offensive front.
When it comes to creating gaps to run the rock, protecting quarterback Dante Moore, and leading the Oregon trenches once again filled with mostly transfer starters, center Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu is the go-to guy who’s getting major awards nods.
With his first start occurring during Oregon’s Vrbo Fiesta Bowl game against Liberty at the end of the 2023 season as a freshman, the junior from Honolulu, Hawaii is continuing to impress during his junior year as the Ducks prepare to enter the first round of the College Football Playoff against No. 12 James Madison.
Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu Recognized For Multiple Awards
The originator of Oregon’s offensive line nickname “The Law Firm”, Laloulu is currently a finalist for the Rimington Trophy and the Polynesian Player of the Year Award. The Rimington Trophy is awarded to the nation’s best center selected by a group of four different prestigious groups.
Only one Oregon offensive lineman has earned the honor since it began in 2000, with Las Vegas Raiders offensive lineman Jackson Powers-Johnson receiving the Rimington Trophy in 2023. Laloulu succeeded Powers-Johnson as Oregon’s starting center.
The other centers in the running include Iowa’s Logan Jones and Florida’s Jake Slaughter.
Iapani “Poncho” Laloulu Could Join Elite Group
The Polynesian Player of the Year Award is given to the most impressive player of Polynesian descent and is presented by the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Past Oregon winners include Washington Commanders quarterback Marcus Mariota (the first ever winner) and Detroit Lions offensive tackle Penei Sewell.
Mariota and Sewell also won the professional level version of this award along with Indianapolis Colt and fellow former Duck, defensive tackle DeForest Buckner.
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Consistency Amid Offensive Line Changes
One of the primary arguments for Laloulu winning the Rimington Trophy is his ability to work with three entirely different squads throughout his time with the Ducks. Throughout transfer portal deals and recruitment additions, Laloulu is a consistent leader.
Entering his sophomore year, Laloulu led an entirely new look like with guard Nishad Strother, guard Marcus Harper II, tackle Ajani Cornelius, and tackle Josh Conerly Jr. That 2024-2025 offensive line, after a fair amount of struggles in the start of the season, employed Laloulu as the starting center in the Oregon State and UCLA game to end the season as a Joe Moore finalist for the second year straight.
Then, when all but Laloulu departed the team due to draft declarations and eligibility, Laloulu once again helmed a Joe Moore Award finalist line, the third in a row for Oregon and the fourth finalist placing since 2019.
“To see the difference that Poncho is, like there’s a confidence in his game that I think we’ve all known he was going to be a really good player, but to see him now match that maturity and match that confidence in his game because he knows he’s a really good player,” said Oregon offensive line coach A’lique Terry. “I think our whole team is feeling it. He’s a clear leader. He helps us in every single aspect, as far as communication. You can see the player he’s grown into.”
Strength Throughout Challenges
Another factor in Laloulu’s strong performance this season is persistence through injury. During Oregon’s final regular season home game against the USC Trojans, Laloulu exited the game in the first quarter after a left foot/ankle injury. Though second string center Charlie Pickard filled in the gaps fairly well for Laloulu to help secure an Oregon victory.
Laloulu, though not appearing again during the game and evidently limping, appeared the very next week on the road against Washington, showing the grit he possesses as Oregon’s starting center.
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Tens of thousands of Aetna members in Oregon will have easier, cheaper access to Providence Oregon hospitals and clinics after the large insurer and heath system reached a deal.
As part of a multi-year agreement, Providence Health & Services recently announced that its facilities in Portland and around the state were back in-network as of Dec. 1 for members of Aetna’s commercial plans.
This comes nearly a year after Aetna, a large health insurer owned by industry behemoth CVS Health, dropped Providence Oregon from its network when negotiations broke down due to a conflict over rate increases—the sort that have been roiling the health care industry as costs skyrocket.
“Providence will once again be a valued partner in our efforts to serve Aetna members in Oregon with access to high-quality, convenient care,” says Cathy Hughes, an executive for Aetna’s western region, in a written statement.
Still, the deal will take different forms in different parts of the state. Providence facilities will be in-network for Aetna’s commercial plans throughout the state. But only in Southern Oregon will Aetna’s Medicare Advantage have in-network access to Providence facilities.
An Aetna spokesman declined to share company membership data for Oregon, but government databases make some details available, and indicate Aetna’s Medicare Advantage market in Oregon is only a fraction of the size of its commercial market.
According to a federal dataset, about 5,000 people in the Tri-County area around Portland—and 14,000 in Oregon overall—are members of an Aetna Medicare Advantage plan.
Meanwhile, a state database indicates about 50,000 Oregon residents were as of Sept. 30 enrolled in one of Aetna’s commercial insurance plans. And more than 250,000 Oregon residents were members of self-insured plans—the sort run by large employers—of which Aetna is the administrator.
Aetna says the deal will be a boon for these members, too. “Self-insured customers fall under our Aetna commercial plans,” CVS Health spokesman Phillip Blando tells WW. “So Oregon residents on Aetna self-insured plans will now have in-network access to Providence.”
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