The Trump administration has reversed plans to remove a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter from a fishing and crabbing community in Oregon, lawmakers said Thursday, after facing uproar from worried residents and a temporary restraining order by a federal judge.
Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon, posted on social media that he had spoken with Coast Guard officials and that they had returned the helicopter to the Pacific Coast town, Newport, “and promised to keep it there.”
Some residents thought that the helicopter was removed to make way for ICE operations there. It is unclear whether the helicopter’s return means federal officials may still place an Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in the central coast town.
Newport sits where the Yaquina River meets the Pacific Ocean, and the estuary and nearby shorelines are known for dangerous king tides, sneaker waves and storm surges. Crossing the Yaquina Bay bar to reach commercial crab and fishing grounds by boat can be a perilous sprint through high waves and rapidly shifting channels.
The helicopter was placed in Newport after a 1985 maritime disaster, when a boat capsized and three crew members died before rescuers could arrive. Residents in Newport fought its removal in 2014, and ensuing federal policy banned the helicopter’s relocation without a lengthy public process.
But in October, Newport residents noticed that the helicopter was gone — it had been moved to North Bend, Ore., 95 miles down the coast. They argued for its return at packed town halls and sued the federal government.
On Nov. 24, a federal judge issued a temporary restraining order demanding that the helicopter return to Newport for at least two weeks. At the time, federal officials said they planned to fight the lawsuit and the temporary order, and a broader hearing on the case is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Crabbing season starts later this month. Senator Jeff Merkley, Democrat of Oregon, said in a social media video on Thursday that the Coast Guard’s acting commandant had “assured me that they had returned the helicopter because of the court action, but they had intended to return it by the start of crab season anyway, and it was back in Newport to stay.”
Along with moving the helicopter, federal contractors have been seeking local businesses capable of providing water and sewer service for a potential ICE facility and have posted job listings for guards, nurses and bus drivers.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond immediately to a request for comment Thursday.
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