Newport residents and officials unite to oppose reported ICE detention site and demand return of Coast Guard helicopter

Hundreds of Newport residents and multiple elected officials told a packed public forum that they oppose a reported plan to evaluate Newport Municipal Airport as a site for a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center and demanded the return of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter now stationed outside the town.

State Rep. David Gomberg told the meeting that a string of signs—job postings for detention officers and bus drivers, solicitations for septic companies to remove "up to 10,000 gallons of human waste each day," and proposed security measures such as a "12 foot security fence"—together suggest "a plan somewhere to build a large scale detention facility right here." He said the move of the Coast Guard rescue helicopter away from Newport has worsened those concerns and said "good government should tell us what's going on."

Why it matters: Newport…