ICE agrees to drop plans to construct Oregon detention center

Newport, a small coastal Oregon town where DHS proposed a massive ICE facility, called the settlement a victory.NEWPORT, Ore. (CN) — The Trump administration backed down from plans to construct an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in a seaside Oregon town and confirmed there were no current construction plans statewide on Friday, bringing an end to two federal lawsuits.“ICE doesn’t get to skirt the law to build a facility for locking up and deporting our neighbors,” Oregon Attorney General Dan Rayfield said in a statement. “Oregon stood up, we made the federal government answer for its plans in court, and now they have to follow the law.”Newport — a fishing, tourism and marine research hub of just 10,000 residents — sued last December, accusing the federal government of deciding to construct a massive facility for ICE detainees without seeking public input and without regard for the limited local infrastructure and natural environment.In a video statement, Newport Mayor Jan Kaplan celebrated the settlement.“This settlement means that the federal government has agreed to our terms and the parties agree to dismiss the lawsuit,” Kaplan said. “This is a significant victory for Newport, for Oregon and for our community … When we began this effort, there was no playbook for a city like Newport to challenge the potential siting of a federal detention facility; we are among the first to do it.”Earlier this year, the state and two intervening conservation groups filed an additional lawsuit against the federal government over the proposed detention facility. They argued the proposal violated environmental law, citing the plethora of threatened and endangered species observed in and around Newport.An ICE director confirmed in February that the agency had been considering using the U.S. Coast Guard Air Facility in Newport as a temporary holding and processing facility, though said it had been withdrawn from consideration.The Coast Guard makes use of a 3.5-acre property at the city’s airport where it has kept a rescue helicopter in case fishing boats run into problems offshore, in particular during the lucrative but dangerous Dungeness crab fishing season in the winter.The federal defendants — the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, ICE and the agencies’ directors — stipulated on Friday that ICE is not currently planning to expand any current detention facilities or open and new long- or short-term detention facilities in the state.A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security confirmed there are no facility plans to announce.“From day one, DHS has remained singularly focused on removing the worst of the worst criminal illegal aliens from the United States and is always evaluating the best methods to do so. These heinous criminals, once arrested, should be removed at lightning speed, not housed on American soil at the taxpayer’s expense,” the spokesperson said in an email. “DHS is moving swiftly to utilize EXISTING detention space with our state and county partners.”The government also agreed that, through next August, if the Department of Homeland Security decides to construct, develop or operate a temporary or permanent facility in Newport, it will provide the plaintiffs at least 30 days of notice before issuing a final environmental impact statement or environmental assessment.In a statement, Josh Laughlin, executive director for intervening plaintiff Cascadia Wildlands, called the settlement a huge victory for the people of Oregon and the environment.“Hopefully this case will provide a template for other states to thwart further attempts to build these ruthless facilities that also despoil the environment,” Laughlin said.Elise Newman, executive director of intervening plaintiff Oregon Shores Conservation Coalition, said the coalition is encouraged by the decision and will remain vigilant to ensure any future proposals respect local and environmental law as well as the Oregon land use system and the coastal ecosystems.“This outcome reflects the strength of coastal communities who spoke up to protect both people and place,” Newman said in a statement. “Newport is a place where people live, work and care deeply for the environment.”Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads