Updates on ICE in Waldport - will update as new information is developed
This article will have regular updates on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency efforts to house personnel in Waldport. It will attempt to be updates as any new development or communication of substance occurs. Please bookmark and check back for updates.
Update as of December 11th, 2025
With Resolution 1328 in hand, the City Manager spoke again with the representative and directly with Moni Mansano, the owner. After an hour long negotiation, the owner has agreed to not sign the ICE contract.
Update as of December 10th, 2025
Over 700 emails were received and 120 people attended the packed Council meeting on Wednesday night. Many people spoke eloquently and fervently as to the concerns they all shared with this owner bringing ICE into Waldport. The Council unanimously agreed, passing Resolution 1328.
Resolution 1328
Update as of December 10th, 2025 (prior to council meeting)
The morning of Dec 10th, 2025, a representative of the Owner reached out to the city. He indicated that indeed the owner had been contacted about a potential contract from the ICE contracting company. He has not signed it yet. However, he explained that the owner is older, is losing considerable money each month in the hotel, and that the efforts to sell the property before he loses everything have been stymied by the HOA in the area. He feels that he has only few options to make enough money to keep his head above water. The city detailed at length their concerns.
Update as of December 8th, 2025
We have spoken with one of the co-owners of the property (Dee Mansano), and she has stated that no such contract or accommodation exists.
We spoke with an unnamed representative of the contracting agency used by the federal government, and they claimed that 'no existing contracts exist for the city of Waldport'.
Update as of December 7th, 2025
In review, other communities have had similar rumors which have caused a lot of strife, so we are taking this very seriously.
We have included the topic on our December agenda, and we would encourage everyone to read the analysis of city options, but frankly, right now this rumor is effectively discounted.
https://towncloud.io/go/waldport-or
The Text of the city's response for council is included below:
TITLE OF ISSUE: Alsi Resort and the rumor of Immigration and Customs Enforcement housing
FOR MEETING DATE: December 10th, 2025
SUMMARY OF ISSUE:
Last week, the city was informed of a rumor that the government contractor team looking for ICE housing on the central Oregon coast, had selected the Alsi Resort in Waldport as the destination.
Within a short period of time, inquires we made, but very little concrete information has been provided. As of Monday morning, staff at the hotel have stated that they have no knowledge of any contracts, but that they do not discriminate against guests. In the meantime, the members of the HOA in Bayshore have reached out to the city (as have numerous citizens) inquiring about whether it was allowed.
Zoning (Title 16): The property in question is a hotel. The property is zoned c-1, which means this is an outright use in the zoning in question. There is nothing in the development code which precludes this usage.
Business License (Title 5): The current business is registered as a short-term transient rental. Transient rentals are defined by stays under 30 days. As currently registered, if the stays were under 30 days, there is no prohibition on this activity. If the stays extended beyond 30 days, this changes the definition of the usage to ‘Long Term Rental’. If that were the case, the business would need to apply for a new business license for the change in use. In that application:
“The City Manager or designee may, upon review of a license application, require the applicant to supply information necessary to determine whether the business complies with this code, city ordinance, or state or federal law. If the applicant fails to supply information so required or submits false or misleading information, the license shall be denied. All businesses shall comply with the provisions of this code, city ordinances, and all state and federal laws before a license may be issued.” WMC 5.04.030
Note: HOA rules in Oregon are legally binding contracts in the state of Oregon. Technically, a violation of HOA rules would be a violation of state, and cause to be resolved before issuing a new license. However, the HOA would be required to notify the city of the violation and its legal status.
As such, only the HOA or other identified state or federal violation would prevent the occupancy for long term housing by members of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Actions by other municipalities:
There are a couple of option available to the city to explore how it might handle this type of situation, depending on the council’s desired outcome. As much as we might like, city staff cannot dictate this level of policy. The following are examples of actions taken by other municipalities:
1) Resolution or proclamation – the city could draft a resolution or proclamation on the effect of this or other controversial organizations setting up residence in our tourism accommodations. Yachats has a great example they are considering next week.
2) Impact fee – the city of Portland recently adopted a fee to recover some of the costs that the organization brought to the community through increase policing and protests caused by the businesses decision. A similar ordinance could be drafted.
3) Amending the city code to specifically exclude certain activities within the city boundary. This is a bit more complicated and will not be effective short term, but could preclude actions in the future.
These solutions could be brought back for consideration at the next meeting.
City Statement:
It is important to consider that the city has provided its legal obligations to questions above as requested. The city does not, as a matter of practice, directly intervene in the business usage of a property for any other reason than code enforcement or unlawful usage.
Government MUST be neutral.
As an aside, in reviewing material for this, it is hard not to come across articles all across Oregon from cities struggling with and fearful of this exact issue.
None the less, it is important that the council and city remain lawful in its execution of the rules for all parties, so that any action it does take is defendable and supportable.
STAFF RECOMMENDATION or ACTION REQUESTED:
Staff would recommend seeing the resolution that Yachats is considering next week as a great example of a response.