For more than a year, people in Newport, Oregon, have watched unusual job postings appear online and a lease near the local Coast Guard station move forward, and asked the same question: is ICE quietly working toward building a detention center in their town?

In March, ICE told a federal court it has no current plans to build one there, and asked a judge to dismiss Newport's lawsuit over it. But no plans right now isn't a promise, and months later, Newport is still fighting in court to get something firmer in writing.

Other Oregon communities don't see this as Newport's fight alone. Portland, Ashland, Yachats, and Benton County have all chipped in money to help cover Newport's legal bills. "Their fight is our fight," said Portland City Councilor Steve Novick. Portland Mayor Keith Wilson said the funding was meant to "send a signal to Mayor Kaplan and all the other mayors across the state that we stand with them."

Newport's own proposed settlement asks for something simple: a binding, written commitment that ICE won't build a detention facility there, plus at least 30 days' notice should those plans ever change. That's a reasonable bottom line for a community that has spent months chasing a straight answer.

No coastal town should have to sue the federal government just to find out if a detention center is coming. Sign the petition demanding ICE put its promise to Newport in writing, before another Oregon community is left guessing.