Fremont’s Cruel Anti-Homeless Ordinance is a Warning for Los Angeles

The City of Fremont has just passed one of the most extreme and draconian anti-homeless laws in California, criminalizing the act of "aiding and abetting" unhoused individuals. This ordinance not only bans encampments but also makes it illegal to provide basic humanitarian aid like food, water, blankets, or even legal support to those in need. It’s a stunningly cruel policy that sets a dangerous precedent—and if we don’t take action, Los Angeles could be next.

Councilmember Traci Park has made it clear that she supports harsher crackdowns on homelessness, favoring punitive measures over real solutions. With cities across California increasingly emboldened after the Supreme Court’s Grants Pass decision, politicians like Park will look to Fremont’s ordinance as a blueprint to further criminalize homelessness in Los Angeles. We must resist this shift before it’s too late.

Fremont’s ordinance is as vague as it is cruel. By prohibiting “aiding and abetting” homelessness, the law can be broadly interpreted to criminalize those providing basic survival necessities to unhoused individuals. Nonprofits and advocacy groups fear that even handing out tents or legal aid could be considered a crime. Vivian Wan, CEO of Abode Services, expressed concern that distributing essential items in extreme weather could result in fines or legal penalties under the new law.

These policies don’t just fail to solve homelessness—they actively make it worse. When people are pushed further into the margins of society, denied aid, and have their few possessions seized in sweeps, they become even more vulnerable to violence, illness, and death. This isn’t a solution; it’s systemic cruelty disguised as governance.

This ordinance is part of a larger trend of reactionary, punitive policies sweeping across California. Following the Grants Pass decision, which allows cities to fine or jail people for sleeping in public spaces, local governments have been racing to implement stricter anti-homeless laws. Governor Gavin Newsom has doubled down on encampment sweeps and has pressured cities to take more aggressive actions, despite the fact that housing remains unaffordable and scarce across the state.

Cities like San Diego and San Francisco have already begun ramping up police enforcement against unhoused communities. Reports have surfaced of police destroying personal belongings, arresting people for simply existing in public, and even harassing volunteers and outreach workers attempting to provide aid. Fremont’s ordinance gives even more power to criminalize survival itself—an approach that Los Angeles politicians like Traci Park would be eager to replicate if given the opportunity.

Councilmember Traci Park has repeatedly advocated for increasing police presence and sweeps targeting unhoused people. She has supported the aggressive expansion of anti-camping laws and worked to push unhoused individuals out of public spaces without offering real solutions. With Fremont setting a new legal precedent, Park and other right-wing councilmembers will likely attempt to bring similar ordinances to Los Angeles, further criminalizing those who have nowhere else to go.

The consequences of such policies are dire. We’ve already seen the results of criminalizing homelessness—tent cities are bulldozed, belongings are confiscated, and unhoused individuals are displaced from one neighborhood to the next with no actual path to housing. Meanwhile, the root causes of homelessness—skyrocketing rents, evictions, lack of affordable housing, and inadequate mental health services—remain unaddressed.

This is a pivotal moment for Los Angeles. If we allow ordinances like Fremont’s to become the norm, we will be paving the way for more cruelty, more suffering, and more deaths on our streets. We must demand that our city leaders reject punitive measures and instead invest in real, proven solutions like permanent supportive housing, rental assistance programs, and expanded mental health care.

Traci Park and other politicians will try to sell these measures as necessary for “public safety,” but we know the truth: these laws are about pushing poor and unhoused people out of sight, not solving homelessness. Los Angeles must not follow Fremont’s lead.