Martin Henner’s letter to the editor in Lookout expresses the view that those protesting a proposed ICE facility in Newport are misguided. He argues that detaining Oregon residents here in Oregon would allow them easier access to legal counsel and perhaps friendlier federal judges to adjudicate their claims.

First, the author neglects to mention that a vast majority of federal detention centers are privately run. These “for profit” prisons have a dismal record of human rights abuses, including overcrowding, unsanitary living conditions, withholding of medical care, skimpy nonnutritious meals and denial of access to family and legal counsel. If past is prologue, why on earth would we invite one of these facilities into our state?

Second, and directly to the author’s point, it is likely a significant portion of immigrants arrested in Oregon would immediately be transferred to detention centers thousands of miles away. ICE has been using this “catch me if you can” tactic throughout the country. After all, a couple thousand miles puts a geographical wall between detainees and their families and attorneys, functionally denying them the resources and legal expertise needed to exercise their constitutional rights. Why does the federal government play such games? It’s really fairly simple. The cruelty is in fact the point.

Indeed, the only good ICE in Newport is in a cooler full of Dungeness crab. Let’s keep it that way.

Howard Newman
Eugene