Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: ICE access to Common House

[Laurie Frank (lsfrank]

Hi Pare (and all),

Thank you for your thoughts on this.  I hear and appreciate your desire to 
offer options that are more protective for communities.  That said, I am proud 
of our community for making a strong and united statement, through a policy 
that was adopted by consensus, about inhumane treatment of people in our 
country.  We are aware of the slight risk to us, which pales in comparison to 
what others are experiencing. 

I also understand the governance and policy implications.  We could have chosen 
to make an informal agreement and procedures to express the same intent.  We 
chose the formal because it is just that - a formal way to speak with one 
voice.  When you talk about a “binding formal policy”, doing so has also binded 
us together as a community in a stronger way than making values statements.  

So, there are many ways to act - policies, values statements, operating 
procedures, protests, sanctuary…  All are important.   I would like to 
encourage communities to at least have the conversation, and decide the best 
approach for your community in supporting our fellow humans in these strange 
and troubled times.  

lsf
Laurie Frank

Linden Cohousing
107 Sutherland Court #101
Madison, WI 53704

“You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world 
around you. 
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference 
you want to make.”

Jane Goodall,
1934 - 2025





> On Nov 24, 2025, at 1:27 PM, Pare Gerou via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi all — I’m loving the fierce community protectiveness and solidarity this
> discussion about ICE officials in the CH is bringing out.
> 
> It is interesting that the Linden cohousing draft goes beyond a values
> statement to becomes a formal policy about what individuals should do to
> respond if approached by enforcement/government officials in shared space.
> Given my lens, I’m a little cautious about choosing a *formal policy* for
> that, versus other types of shared commitments.
> 
> In my Greek Village Cohousing group I run an “Intentional by Legal Design”
> workshop — the idea is to help intentionally “place” commitments into the
> right legal/governance containers, so community life feels aligned, humane,
> and protected — without over-policing behavior or creating accidental
> liability or conflict or dashed expectations.
> 
> It is less a Bylaws and traditional US cohousing documents class (done
> quite well at IC.org and US Coho), and has some synergy with the wonderful
> materials in sociocracy courses and books, but it is more of an overall
> “intentional by design” look at questions like *where should commitments
> live* and also tackles the sticky enforceability in community issue. I’ve
> thought about expanding it to include others if people are interested in
> attending when I provide it to our Greek Village Cohousing group.
> 
> With that lens (where do we express our commitments and our values): even
> with the best intentions, formally legislating individual, in-the-moment
> conduct in high-stakes, fact-specific encounters with federal enforcement
> can unintentionally expose the community legally.  It can also create
> conflict if someone responds differently in real life.  I also note that
> formal policies are the kinds of documents that can be compelled in
> discovery later.
> 
> A community can rally, with overwhelming solidarity, without choosing a
> binding formal policy.  There are many legal design tools I talk about with
> our group.
> 
> One possible alternative in this instance:  Express the strong values
> language in solidarity. Repurpose the formal policy into a “what we do”
> instructions called an informal SOP/”Support plan” (who we call, how we
> support neighbors, how we coordinate care), paired with a neutral sounding
> formal policy on *representation in common areas* (clarify who speaks or
> acts on behalf of the community if enforcement officials make requests in
> shared space).
> 
> Creating a strong values statement and a set of informal SOP Support Plan
> guidelines couched as “how we support neighbors” paired with more clarity
> about who is formally representing the community in those shared spaces
> when faced with government officials -- this all preserves collective
> action without pre-legislating any one particular person’s personal
> response during a high stakes event or providing discoverable formal
> policies during this period of time.
> 
> I’d also genuinely love to hear from our wise governance -sociocracy and
> consent teachers like Ted and Jerry, Sharon Villines, Diana, Caroline and
> others—about this issue of what is appropriate for a formal policy.
> 
> And if anyone wants to go deeper on general legal/policy design in
> cohousing and intentional community, feel free to email me — I’m happy to
> include others in a future workshop.   -Pare Gerou (Evi) for Greek Village
> Cohousing
> 
> On Sat, Nov 22, 2025 at 4:14 PM Laurie Frank via Cohousing-L <
> cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> 
>> At Linden Cohousing, we approved a policy that reads:
>> 
>> Policy Against Admitting I.C.E. Agents
>> approved March 12, 2025
>> 
>> It is the policy of Linden Cohousing not to admit agents of US Immigration
>> and Customs Enforcement (I.C.E.), or those working with them, into our
>> locked building, unless they have a valid judicial warrant. No member,
>> artist, visitor, or guest shall allow I.C.E. (or those working with them)
>> into our building, without a valid judicial warrant.
>> 
>> Each member, artist, visitor, and guest shall be provided with a red Know
>> Your Rights card to show to I.C.E. Anyone may call upon a volunteer lawyer
>> within Linden Cohousing to determine if a warrant is valid.
>> 
>> Explanation of Policy
>> All persons within the United States are protected by the Fourth and Fifth
>> Amendments to the US Constitution. The Fourth Amendment protects us from
>> unreasonable searches and seizures. The Fifth Amendment provides the right
>> to remain silent.
>> 
>> The red Know Your Rights card which can be shown to or read to I.C.E.
>> reads:
>> I do not wish to speak with you, answer your questions, or sign or hand
>> you any documents based on my 5th Amendment rights under the United States
>> Constitution. I do not give you permission to enter my home based on my 4th
>> Amendment rights under the United States Constitution unless you have a
>> warrant to enter, signed by a judge or magistrate with my name on it that
>> you slide under the door. I do not give you permission to search any of my
>> belongings based on my 4th Amendment rights. I choose to exercise my
>> constitutional rights. These cards are available to citizens and
>> noncitizens alike.
>> 
>> You have constitutional rights:
>> • DO NOT OPEN THE DOOR if an immigration agent is knocking on the door.
>> • DO NOT ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS from an immigration agent if they try to
>> talk to you. You have the right to remain silent.
>> • DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING without first speaking to a lawyer. You have the
>> right to speak with a lawyer. • If you are outside of your home, ask the
>> agent if you
>> are free to leave and if they say yes, leave calmly.
>> • GIVE THIS CARD TO THE AGENT. If you are inside of your home, show the
>> card
>> through the window or slide it under the door.
>> 
>> 
>> - Laurie Frank
>> 
>> Sent from my iPhone
>> 
>>> 
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