A Texas company that touts itself as having “the longest standing detention center contract with ICE” is looking to hire detention officers in Newport — the latest sign that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement may be planning a new outpost on the Oregon Coast.

According to a job listing on its website, Corpus Christi-based Asset Protection and Security is in the market for people with experience working in detention facilities. Under “duties,” the ad says successful applicants will “provide care, custody, and control of those in ICE custody” for around $50 an hour.

Asset Protection and Security did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the posting on Wednesday, but the listing appears to be the clearest evidence yet that immigration authorities are looking to set up shop at Newport’s tiny municipal airport.

But the company is not the only one advertising positions in Newport.

Asked about the detention officer ad, state Rep. David Gomberg pointed to additional listings by a contractor called Acuity International that is looking to hire an infection prevention officer, nurse manager, health services administrator and other positions in Newport. Those ads list “DHS or ICE detention center experience” under preferred qualifications.

“The picture is becoming increasingly clear,” Gomberg said Wednesday. “The federal government is not telling us what’s going on but the evidence is mounting that a detention center is what’s intended for this location.”

Other evidence of a possible major undertaking at the site: The U.S. Coast Guard recently relocated a rescue helicopter it has long stationed at the Newport airport, potentially creating room for other activities; a federal defense contractor that specializes in troop housing has asked about leasing more than four acres adjacent to the Coast Guard site; and Acuity International recently began asking around the city about services to haul between 5,000 and 10,000 tons of wastewater from the facility each day.

Local, state and federal officials have been working since late last week to determine exactly what the federal government might be planning in Newport, but say they’ve largely been stonewalled. Responding to an inquiry from OPB about the situation, an ICE spokesperson did not directly comment on the agency’s interest in the Oregon Coast — but did not deny a new outpost is coming.

“Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem’s leadership, [the Dept. of Homeland Security] 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,” that 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.”

This is a developing news story and will be updated.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/11/12/ice-detention-center-newport-jobs/