Newport is among the sites on the Oregon coast under consideration for a new U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, Newport officials said Wednesday.

The declaration by Newport City Manager Nina Vetter at a city meeting corroborated days of speculation to that effect after federal contractors indicated they wanted to lease city land and hire ICE detention officers based in the coastal town.

Whether ICE will move forward with plans to create a possible detention center in Lincoln County remains as murky as the fog rolling off Yaquina Bay, however.

Vetter also said Wednesday that the Texas company that had first proposed leasing land at the Newport Municipal Airport for unspecified federal operations has withdrawn its letter of interest. She did not specify how she was “

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