The Ashland City Council will vote on the first reading of an ordinance on Ashland’s Enhanced Law Enforcement Area (or ELEA) that would expand its geographic range and make it easier to expel individuals from the zones included in the ELEA.

Peace House and many allied organizations will be submitting the following to the city:

To the Ashland City Council:

We understand that you are considering changes to the Enhanced Law Enforcement Area proposed by Ashland Police Chief Tighe O’Meara. We write with great concern over this proposal and urge you to vote against the ELEA expansion.

We are seeing the extension of police powers and overpolicing in every aspect of public life around the country at this moment in time, from ICE to the National Guard to the co-optation of local police forces for federal immigration purposes. Overpolicing always inevitably harms the most vulnerable. Ashland should be leading the way in alternatives to policing to address community issues for all, rather than expanding police powers that will almost certainly be used against those already most disenfranchised.

The change to the ELEA framework that allows for expulsion based on charges rather than convictions mirrors the current presidential administration’s tactic of jailing and detaining those it finds inconvenient, ignoring due process for the sake of pleasing the wealthy and powerful. We are surprised that the City of Ashland would consider aligning itself with this approach at this moment in time, and that our officials appear to be pushing a policy that puts civil rights considerations second to the concerns of tourism and the real estate industry. If ever there was a time to shore up, rather than undermine, civil rights and due process in our local procedures, it is now.

Furthermore, the current ELEA already includes multiple locations where community meals are served each week for those who are in need of food. The proposed geographic expansion would include yet another. The ELEA’s obvious targeting of Ashland’s vulnerable and houseless members threatens their access to these key resources, which include not only a hot meal but time in community—something we ought to be encouraging, not discouraging. That someone’s attempt to eat a hot meal puts them at risk to earn a trespassing charge seems excessive, disproportionate, and cruel.

We should not be a cruel city. We should not be a city that puts civil rights second. We ask that you vote against the ELEA expansion.

Sincerely,

Peace House

Rogue Action Center

Southern Oregon Jobs With Justice

Bear Creek Social Center

Siskiyou Rising Tide

Judi’s Midnight Diner

Rogue Valley Pepper Shakers

Southern Oregon Housing for All

Rogue Climate

(If your organization would like to sign on before this is submitted on Monday, 9/15, please email meg@peacehouse.net.)

This August, the National Homelessness Law Center wrote to the city with similar concerns. From their letter:

“Not only does Ashland enforcement of exclusion zones present a grave risk of constitutional violations, but it could also have devastating consequences with respect to unhoused individuals’ belongings, including essential documents, identification, valuable possessions, and items necessary for daily survival, which are often left unattended during their detention.”

You can read their letter in full:

We encourage Ashland and other Rogue Valley residents to reach out to the council in advance of their September 16th vote.

Looking to learn more and get help with your written comment or with testifying in-person? Join us for an online workshop Monday, September 15th at 5:30. Register for the Zoom link.