NEWS UPDATE FROM STATE REPRESENTATIVE DAVID GOMBERG: Addressing the ICE Rumors in Our Community

EDITOR’S NOTE: After the weekend of ICE activity in Tillamook and Clatsop Counties – and continued presence in Clatsop County, this news from the central Oregon Coast of possible a possible ICE detention center on the Oregon Coast is cause for increased awareness. Representative Gomberg provides additional information below.

By Representative David Gomberg, House District 10

11/10/2025

Today’s newsletter is coming to you later than usual as I work to address a few key issues that our communities are grappling with.The Oregon Coast, with reliance on hospitality, fishing and food processing, and agriculture, has largely been able to avoid the consequences and controversy of immigration actions that have challenged our larger cities.We are now aware there are persistent rumors and reports that ICE is in the process of expanding operations near the Newport Municipal Airport in space that has been deeded to the Coast Guard. Predictably, the federal agencies that actually know something are not saying. But I have been in constant contact with our US Senators and Congresswoman, the Governor’s office, Attorney General, and local leaders.What I do know is that reports indicate the proposed siting of a new ICE detention facility in the Newport area. We are aware that our local Coast Guard helicopter has been relocated to North Bend, and that is disturbing.Information beyond that is scarce at this time.

This is a developing story. It is too soon to know or say anything with certainty. But it is certainly not too soon for my office to be engaged.

The City of Newport today released the following:

City of Newport officials were made aware of information that the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is in the process of evaluating locations along the Oregon coast for a potential U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) immigration facility, and the Newport Municipal Airport has been identified as a possible location for this facility.

City leadership is actively working with local, state, and federal legislators to verify and assess this information, its potential effects on public safety and city resources, and municipal and legal options that may be available. Efforts to contact DHS representatives by phone and email have not received a response at the time of this release.

The City’s standard communications practices require the confirmation of details prior to releasing information to the public. However, due to credibility of the information received by City officials and the sensitivity of the issue, Newport leadership has chosen to share this information with the community in the interest of public safety and transparency.

Newport City Council will hold an open public meeting on Wednesday, November 12, at 6 pm.

I’m not aware of any planned public reaction. As always, I encourage people to exercise their first amendment rights peacefully, lawfully, and constructively. Know your rights.

I should also add that our US Coast Guard is not ICE. They are currently on duty, as always, protecting our communities, coastline, visitors and particularly our fishing fleet. That includes occasionally posting vans (sometimes unmarked) with government plates at lookout stations to observe traffic in our harbors. I’ve received reports of some personnel being harassed. That needs to stop! The Coast Guard saves lives and we support their brave work and presence here.

I will update you as this situation evolves.

Oregon remains a sanctuary state. And within that status, anyone committing crimes against people or property should be held accountable regardless of immigration status.

The federal government needs to fix their broken immigration laws and border policies. But that should not include tearing local families apart, intimidating and debilitating local businesses and their employees, or upending local communities.

Reasonable people will have different reactions to how our federal government best handles immigration policy. Let’s address our differences respectfully and with an eye toward better times ahead.

I often write about our evolving Oregon economy. Over the last decade, we’ve become used to having state revenues to pay for schools, housing, health care, and local projects like water and sewer infrastructure. But suddenly, with tariffs affecting our export industries, large layoffs in some industries, lack of qualified employees hamstringing others, and reductions in federal spending and employment – which have disproportionately been seen in our part of Oregon – more people are paying less in taxes, and that means the state has less to spend.

Your legislature recognized these trends early in 2025 and began reducing state budgets. But just as we finalized a two-year spending plan, changes in the federal tax code forecast another billion dollars in revenue reductions. We’ve been struggling since then to adjust the just-approved 2025-27 two-year budget.

Certainly, some readers will welcome reduced state spending. I get letters every week that speak to budget bloat, unnecessary investments, and waste or fraud. On one hand, I agree. Just like your family budget includes things that seemed like a good idea when you bought them, there are state investments that just didn’t realize their potential. And on the other hand, one person’s sense of waste is another person’s lifeline. It often seems that the programs we don’t want are the same programs other people need. Portland doesn’t care about tide gates, rodeo stands, or eroding beach access trails. A responsible budget balances all parts of the state and all the people who live here.

I’m a strong advocate for fiscal accountability, and I’ve seen the work done to already tighten state spending. As one example, I point to my efforts to cut fifty positions and $100 million from the ODOT budget before the special session to approve a transportation plan.

That brings us to the November challenge.

Each agency that relies on income tax money, corporate taxes, or lottery funds has been asked to plan for at least a 5% reduction. (Now is a good time to review my late October newsletter on the state budget.) That is a tedious, time-consuming, and heartwrenching process. We spent six months during the 2025 long session building that budget with public hearings, agency reviews, and lots of negotiation. Now we have to come back in the 2026 short session and do it all over in just six weeks.

There are seven budget committees responsible for different subject areas. Senator Jeff Golden (Ashland) and I co-chair the budget committee on Transportation and Economic Development. We manage eleven agencies that include Housing, Veterans Affairs, Business Development, Consumer and Business Services, Employment, Transportation, and the Bureau of Labor and Industry.

Those agencies have already come forward with proposed reductions. Examples include DMV services, helping rural veterans get to medical appointments, art grants, local infrastructure projects, long-term rental assistance, senior and disabled housing development, elderly rental assistance, foreclosure avoidance counseling, funding for County Veteran Service Officers, the Firefighter Apprenticeship program, or investigation of wage theft or employment discrimination.

I often share the example from the last session when we had to choose between funding emergency shelters or helping people who were facing eviction from their homes. And as hard as these choices are, I’m quietly grateful that I’m not responsible for cutting budgets governing schools, health care, or mental health support. As you can see, these are real programs that affect real people. If they don’t affect you, they certainly affect your community.

There is a certain irony that as we work to reduce spending in the state budget, we’re also returning money we have collected back to Oregonians in the tax cut program called the Oregon Kicker.

Under the state’s unique kicker law, which returns state dollars to taxpayers when state revenue comes in substantially higher than projected, Oregonians will either receive heftier tax refunds or owe less money to the government when they file their 2025 taxes. This isn’t about revenue going up. It is about more revenue coming in than state economists predicted.

State economists verified last week that Oregon’s revenue for the biennium that ended in June exceeded their forecasts by $1.41 billion, the fourth largest surplus in state history, according to the economic analysis office. That amount is lower than the $1.7 billion rebate that state economists predicted in February.

To calculate how much you can expect from the rebate next year, enter how much Oregon income tax you paid in 2024 on the tool here. You can find that figure on line 24 of your 2024 Form OR-40.

Oregonians have seen a series of massive kickers in recent years, including a record $5.6 billion rebate in 2024. State Economist Carl Riccadonna, who was hired last year, has made adjustments to the state’s projection model in an effort to more accurately predict revenue moving forward.

Now let’s talk about Oregonians going hungry.

42 million Americans and more than 750,000 Oregonians participate in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program — most commonly known as food stamps or SNAP. That’s about 1 in 6 Oregonians and includes more than 25,000 people in our district. For many families, this program is the difference between eating and going hungry. More than half of the Oregonians enrolled in the program are seniors, children, and people with disabilities.

I’m often asked why Oregon has so many people enrolled. The answer is that Oregon does better than most states in finding, qualifying, and signing up people. The state administers the program with funding from the federal government.

While Oregon ranks third among U.S. states for the highest percentage of residents who receive benefits through SNAP, the state ranks 21st in the percentage of residents living at or below the poverty line, according to numbers compiled by the federal government.

The federal government shutdown that began October 1 halted monthly SNAP payments starting November 1.

Even before the SNAP crisis, Oregon food banks were seeing high demand. In late October, Governor Tina Kotek announced $5 million in state funds for food banks to help fill the gap. That’s a positive step, but a fraction of the need. Oregon receives about $142 million per month from the federal government for SNAP, and our state budget simply doesn’t have the resources to sustain that kind of support.

Over the past week, we’ve seen court decisions ordering payments to be made, appeals of those decisions, announcements of federal emergency reserves being released, further announcements that emergency funds can only pay half of normal benefits, and then announcements that Oregon has fully paid November SNAP benefits. If you are confused, it only means you are paying attention…

Before shopping, people should check their EBT card balance to make sure their benefits have been issued. There are several ways to find out how much money is in your account.

Call customer service toll-free at 888-997-4447.
Check online by logging in to your EBT account.
If you have the ebtEDGE mobile app, you can check your balance there. Only use the official ebtEDGE website and mobile app for Apple or Android. ODHS does not support any other EBT management apps or websites.

If you are expecting a SNAP balance and don’t see one, call the ONE Customer Service Center at 800-699-9075. ODHS will continue to share updates at their dedicated SNAP updates webpage.

Food should never be political. We can debate what the future of SNAP might look like, or ways to improve, but pulling back benefits with short notice to the most vulnerable is unacceptable.

Tuesday is Veterans Day – originally called Armistice Day until 1954 – when we celebrate and honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. We stand united in our gratitude and respect for you.

Our armed forces include the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, newer and lesser-known Space Force, and of course, the Coast Guard. Thank you for your service and for the sacrifices your families have made as well.

Friday morning, it was my great pleasure to join several local veterans at the annual Take a Vet to School program at Taft High. It was an honor to share the stage with my old friend, Frank King, who served in the Marines during World War II. Frank is an active and vibrant 103-year-old living in Otis who held a room filled with high school juniors spellbound with his stories and personal history.

There are more than 5,000 vets in Lincoln County, and each is an important part of our own broader community and our own history.

Warm Regards,