Advocates worry of dangerous enforcement during Forest Service sweep of China Hat Road encampments
(Update: Adding video, comments from National Homelessness Law Center)
BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- On the eve of the Deschutes National Forest's closure of nearly 36,000 acres south of Bend for fuels reduction work - and the deadline for over 100 homeless people living off China Hat Road to move elsewhere - the controversy is drawing national attention from critics of the plan.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the National Homeless Law Center are among groups around the country focusing on what both groups blame on the Trump administration and the latter calls "possibly the largest federal eviction of a homeless community in recent history."
Advocates are making their way to China Hat Road to protest Thursday's closure.
"These people are in the forest because they really have nowhere else to go, and come tomorrow, they're still not going to have anywhere else to go," said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homeless Law Center.
"Every step of the way, it seems like some people in Oregon, whether it's the town of Grants Pass or it's the federal government through the Forest Service, are pushing a harmful false myth that people experiencing homelessness should be rounded up and thrown into jail," he added.
But Rabinowitz says the outcome of Thursday's action is unpredictable.
"We don't know what's going to happen tomorrow. We don't know what time it's going to happen. We don't know what it's going to look like," he said Wednesday. "And people are terrified. People are terrified of losing everything they have. "
Rabinowitz points to the Trump administration, claiming it is to blame for the federal government's crackdown, part of the Forest Service's wildfire strategy, dating back to 2023 during the Biden administration, now carried out during Trump's second presidency.
"The Trump administration has made it very clear that they have a desire to round up homeless people and force them to government detention camps, and make it illegal to be homeless in the United States," Rabinowitz said.
Here's the law center's full news release sent Wednesday to KTVZ News.
Trump’s Move to Evict Homeless Oregonians from Forest is Flashpoint for America’s failure to solve homelessness.
Advocates warn of mass displacement and potential police violence ahead of May 1st raid
Deschutes, Oregon, April 30th, 2025- Tomorrow, the Trump Administration’s US Forest Service will evict nearly 100 homeless Oregonians living in Deschutes National Forest under threat of 1 year in jail, $5,000 in fines, or both. Recently, the Trump administration announced that the Deschutes Forest would be opened to logging.
Residents of the forest filed a request for a Temporary Restraining Order, surfacing nearly 80 disability claims and the government’s failure to conduct a full environmental impact assessment. Yesterday, a US District Court, District of Oregon judge denied this request, setting the stage for the first major confrontation between the Trump administration and homeless residents. As of April 29th, nearly 100 people were still residing in the forest, setting the stage for possibly the largest federal eviction of a homeless community in recent history.
“My family goes back three generations here in Bend. My very first job was framing houses – you could say my family and I literally helped build this town. But now? There's no way I could afford to buy a place here. Anyone could be just one missed paycheck, one slip on the ladder, or one sick day away from losing everything. Bend used to feel like a more accepting place. Just because we're living out here doesn't make us bad people, but the way we're being treated makes everything that much harder. It's incredibly difficult to get back on your feet once you've been knocked down. If they force us out on May 1st, we still won't have anywhere else to go. It'll just make it even tougher for us to rebuild our lives,” said Chris Daggett, who currently lives in the Deschutes Forest.
As is true whenever governments displace communities, this traumatic eviction will make homelessness worse by severing ties with services, exacerbating health conditions, destroying communities, and wasting resources. Nobody wants to experience homelessness. Living in the forest is the last resort for people fleeing abuse, who can’t afford rising rents or struggle to make ends meet with jobs that don’t pay enough. Instead of forcing people into another forest or into town, politicians should move people into housing.
This harmful eviction comes as the Trump administration proposes cuts and policy changes that will make homelessness worse, and amid threats to force homeless people into government-run detention camps. Following last summer’s Grants Pass ruling, over 150 cities have passed laws that make it illegal to be homeless and do not help anybody.
“Everybody needs a safe place to live, and those of us living in the forest are trying our best to survive. People I care about are facing the unimaginable: losing everything they own or risking one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. I've seen the fear in their eyes, the sleepless nights, the sheer desperation. The constant patrols and threats have created an atmosphere of terror. People are afraid to even step outside their camps, paralyzed by the stress of potential tickets and further harassment. A Forest Service officer told me that the closer it got to the deadline, the worse it would get for us. He has also made statements to other campers that they will be arrested and their belongings burned if they remain past the deadline. That's not a warning; it's a threat. The stress is palpable. This eviction won’t just displace people; it will destroy lives. Since shelters are full and housing is too expensive, we will still have no choice but to sleep outside. Sleeping unsheltered in the Central Oregon winter is a death sentence. Where else do they want us to go?” said Mandy Bryant, who currently lives Deschutes Forest.
“It never should have come to this,” said Chuck Hemingway, a retired attorney who is advocating on behalf of Forest residents and who filed claims to stop the eviction on both environmental review and disability grounds. Instead of battling this out in court, wasting taxpayer money and government resources, the Trump administration should fund the housing and support that are proven to solve homelessness. Nobody wants to be out here, living in the forest. They were forced into homelessness by out-of-control housing costs, the COVID-19 pandemic, and wages that are just too low.”
“This eviction is a waste of government resources that will displace communities and push homeless people into other cities and forests while doing nothing to address the growing lack of housing that people can afford,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center. Sadly, this is consistent with Trump’s policies to make homelessness worse. And, like most of his policies, this eviction hurts us all, but hurts Black, brown, immigrant, queer and disabled folks the worst. This eviction comes during a massive increase in backwards, anti-homeless laws that are deeply unpopular, do nothing to help people, and make homelessness worse. In fact, through this eviction, the Trump administration, will put even more pressure on the local and state government by pushing more homeless people into surrounding cities, while cutting funding for the very housing and supportive services needed to address the crisis. We need leaders to solve the root cause of homelessness- the lack of housing and healthcare that people can afford- not waste time and money kicking people from encampment to encampment.”
