This is an adapted excerpt from the Nov. 17 episode of “The Rachel Maddow Show.”
Two weeks from now marks the official start of Dungeness crab season off the coast of Oregon. Dungeness crab is one of the world’s great seafood delicacies. There’s nothing like it. But the path to get that delicious crab to your plate is a tough one.
Fishing for Dungeness crab is one of the most dangerous jobs in the U.S. It’s difficult work. It’s risky work. The busiest port for Dungeness crab on the whole West Coast is the cool, beautiful little town of Newport, Oregon, with a population just above 10,000.
Last week, the people of that small town discovered something very worrying. For years, there was a U.S. Coast Guard rescue helicopter based at a small municipal airport in Newport. It was right there, in case the Coast Guard needed to spring into action to help one of the vessels doing the very dangerous work of the Newport fishing fleet.
But for some reason, the Trump administration just took the rescue helicopter away. That crucial resource has now been moved from their airport to a new location, one that is 30 minutes away by air.
In response to the move, a member of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives laid out the stakes quite clearly, saying “We aren’t saying people might die — we’re saying people will die.”
As Newport residents learned that their rescue helicopter had inexplicably been taken away, officials in the town made an announcement about what they thought was going on.
Local leaders told everyone that they thought the Trump administration, through the Department of Homeland Security, was laying the groundwork to convert the Coast Guard facility at their little airport, where the rescue helicopter had been, into a possible U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement prison. According to those officials, a federal defense contractor had contacted the city about leasing land at the facility.
Immediately, people in Newport started raising hell. They did not want an ICE prison, and they certainly did not want to give up their rescue helicopter to get one.
So, the town called a council meeting, and judging from the turnout at that meeting, that was a smart decision. The Newport fire chief said more than 800 people showed up for that meeting, and many were forced to stand in overflow rooms or hallways. Again, that was the turnout in a town with a population of just 10,000.
After that meeting, we learned that the defense contractor that had contacted the town about leasing land at the facility has now backed off and said they’re out.
This is all still a live issue, and the rescue helicopter is still not returned, but the fight is joined in this small town in Oregon.
As one Newport city councillor put it, “Maybe somebody thought, ‘Oh, it’s a small place, it’s rural, they’re probably quiet, we can overpower them.’ … We’ve been underestimated.”
“We’ve been underestimated.”
You can say that again.
Allison Detzel contributed.
