State Sen. Jeff Golden, community leaders decry federal cuts to food aid, Medicaid, Medicare and immigration crackdowns
By Damian Mann for Ashland.news
A litany of misery battering the poor and the Hispanic community reverberated at a rally held by Sen. Jeff Golden, D-Ashland, at the Medford library Saturday.
Food insecurity, immigration tactics, and the looming crises in Medicaid and Medicare were some of problems that hit home with Golden and community members.
About 100 people attended the event, and many of them brought food donations that will be distributed by ACCESS, a local organization that has 36 pantries in the region.
“Food banks are really going to be challenged for a long time,” Golden said, citing the cuts to the food programs known as SNAP (Supplemental Nutritional Assistance) and EBT (electronic benefit transfer), known as the Oregon Trail Card program. Drastic cuts to the programs that provide food to poor families have prompted lawsuits by Oregon and other states against the Trump administration.
Virginia Camberos, a Phoenix city councilor and director of the Rogue Valley chapter of Unite Oregon Action, said a different sort of food insecurity has hit local Hispanic people.
They are fearful to even go to grocery stores because of ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) crackdowns, Camberos said.
“There are tons of folks not getting any food,” she said.
Volunteers are now picking up their groceries and bringing them to their homes.
One woman at the rally asked if she could volunteer, but Camberos said, “You are a white woman — they’ll be afraid of you.”
She said she’s been getting calls late at night from people worried about ICE raids.
“We’re working on keeping our families safe,” she said. “We’re giving them the information to survive all this s***.”
Rene Braga, also with Unite Oregon, said many Hispanics are fearful of “just walking down the street.”
Golden said the Legislature is developing a law that would prevent ICE agents from wearing masks in Oregon.
Jason Patton, donor relations manager for ACCESS, said food pantries are busier than ever, particularly the busiest pantry in west Medford, with cars lining up hours before it opens.
“Demand is going up and supply is going down,” he said.
In Jackson County, 50,000 residents rely on SNAP, Patton said.
“We’re doing everything we can to combat food insecurity,” he said. ACCESS also has a mobile pantry that serves rural areas.
Marko Cook, with the food pantries in Talent and Phoenix, said, “I’m one of the people who works in the trenches.”
In Phoenix, he said 100 families previously relied on the food bank, but that has increased to 150.
In Talent, 40 families were served previously, but that has risen to 60.
“It’s a scary time,” Cook said.
Ellen Eichamer, who is with Indivisible and has participated in No Kings rallies, said people need to be watching out for their neighbors because ICE agent have grabbed people off streets and a teacher was “ripped out” of her classroom in front of the children.
“They’re taking anybody of color,” she said.
Eichamer encouraged people to video situations with ICE but to maintain a distance of at least 10 feet away.
She encouraged the audience to call the Portland Immigrant Rights Coalition hotline at 888-662-1510 if they see ICE activity.
She said many people don’t realize there is an ICE station located at the Medford airport.
Hispanics have feared joining No Kings rallies, she said, but recently a Latino family did show up.
“The mom was sobbing and said, ‘I’m so scared,’” Eichamer said. “It’s unimaginable to live with that fear.”
Eichamer has created bracelets for kids to wear in case they get separated from their parents. The bracelets have a phone number of a relative or friend, and parents are encouraged to give power of attorney to these friends or relatives in case the parents are detained by ICE.
Golden said Oregon has joined other states in filing dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration over immigration issues and for what Golden said was the “illegal use of the tariff power.”
Higher tariffs translate into cost-of-living increases, hitting the poor particularly hard, Golden said.
“There are things going on that are just inhumane,” he said. “The president is seizing powers that are clearly unconstitutional.”
In the ongoing legal fight over SNAP benefits, Oregon and two other states successfully received enough money from a recent legal win to take care of the November Oregon Trail Card payments, he said.
Other states that didn’t act fast enough will not receive the federal dollars in November because the Trump administration has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, Golden said.
While the wealthy get tax cuts, the poor lose their Medicaid benefits, Golden said.
Because the Trump administration has cut federal dollars that typically flow back to states, Golden said.
Oregon is facing about a $1 billion loss from the federal government in the next two years, with up to $8 billion over the next five years.
Golden warned that the upcoming legislative session will likely focus on budget cuts.
An effort is underway to uncouple elements of Oregon’s income tax laws from the federal government’s to help lower income families, he said.
“There is an Oregon plan to withhold federal taxes,” he said. “That’s our money — Do you pay federal income taxes?”
The audience cried out “Yeah.”
He said these and other issues, which impact the ability to properly address climate change and other pressing issues, are being felt both in the U.S. and internationally.
“The problems are vast enough that is beyond government to solve,” he said.
Despite the problems facing the community, Golden said he was heartened by the outpouring of support from the audience, pointing to the boxes of food donated by locals.
“I can’t tell you how good it feels,” he said. “Doesn’t it feel like we’re moving into a new moment?”
The audience encourage Golden to seek a third term as senator in 2026.
He said he would make up his mind over the next two weeks.
Previously he said he thought two terms would be enough before passing the torch to someone from a younger generation.
But with Oregon under attack from the federal government, Golden said, “I changed my way of thinking.”
Audience members offered to canvass for Golden if he decides to run.
He ended the rally by saying, “Thank you for lifting my spirits today.”
Reach freelance writer Damian Mann at dmannnews@gmail.com.
