More than 100 people packed a Waldport City Council meeting Wednesday night to express opposition to even the possibility of an ICE detention facility in the city. Rumors were swirling through the Lincoln County community that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency had inquired about renting hotel rooms, possibly to house workers at a potential facility elsewhere in the county.
Roughly 100 people attended the Waldport City Council meeting on Dec. 10, 2025, to express their opposition to any type of ICE facility in the city. The crowd spilled out into an adjacent hallway.
Brian Bahouth / KLCC
During the meeting, Waldport City Manager Dann Cutter confirmed that ICE had indeed contacted the Alsi Resort to inquire about renting space at the hotel.
It comes as the federal agency has made similar inquiries just up the road in Newport.
Following sometimes emotional public comment, the council unanimously passed a resolution that empowers Cutter to use all legal means at his disposal to prevent an ICE detention facility from coming to the coastal community of roughly 2,000 residents.
“Preventing a lawful business from operating can be very challenging,” Cutter told KLCC after the meeting. “We are going to have to be very careful, though very doggedly determined to do this.”
Waldport Mayor Heide Lambert described the meeting as the best day of her time as mayor, a rare show of unity in a city government recently plagued by deep divisions and rancor.
Brian Bahouth is a reporter with KLCC. This story comes to you from the Northwest News Network, a collaboration between public media organizations in Oregon and Washington.
It is part of OPB’s broader effort to ensure that everyone in our region has access to quality journalism that informs, entertains and enriches their lives. To learn more, visit our journalism partnerships page.
