Washington: U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a sweeping executive order directing aggressive new measures to clear homeless encampments from city streets and relocate unhoused individuals to treatment or institutional care facilities -- a move that has drawn sharp criticism from advocacy groups and civil rights experts.
According to Namibia Press Agency, the order, signed Thursday, directs federal agencies to prioritize funding for cities and states that enforce bans on urban camping, drug use, and loitering. It also instructs U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to seek the reversal of longstanding court precedents and consent decrees that limit local governments' authority to detain individuals with mental illness or addiction issues. The order asserts that shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional care "will restore public order," citing concerns about "endemic vagrancy," "disorderly behavior," and "violent attacks."
The White House says the new approach aims to make it easier for municipalities to remove homeless people from public spaces and place them in long-term care settings through civil commitment -- a legal process that allows for involuntary institutionalization of those deemed a risk to themselves or others. The order signals a major shift away from the long-standing "Housing First" model, favoring treatment-first programs that often require sobriety and compliance as conditions for support. Cities that crack down on homeless encampments could now be rewarded with federal grants, while funding for supervised drug-use sites and harm-reduction programs is blocked.
The move follows a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling last year that allows local authorities to ban public camping even when no shelter beds are available. During his 2024 campaign, Trump pledged to remove encampments from city centers and federal lands, describing them as threats to public safety. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stated that the initiative aims to improve community safety by removing "vagrant criminals" and redirecting resources toward substance abuse programs.
Civil rights groups and homelessness advocates argue the new order will do more harm than good, potentially worsening the nation's homelessness crisis. Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center criticized the order for failing to address housing costs and forcing more people into homelessness. Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, argued that the approach is not a dignified or evidence-based way to meet people's needs.
According to a January 2024 report by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, an estimated 771,480 people were homeless in the United States on a single night -- the highest figure since national counts began. Experts cite systemic factors such as soaring housing costs, a shortage of affordable units, and insufficient mental health infrastructure as drivers of the crisis. Ann Oliva emphasized that permanent housing paired with voluntary supportive services is the proven solution, warning against punitive models from past decades.
It remains unclear how some provisions of the order will be implemented, with media reports questioning the attorney general's legal authority to overturn judicial rulings. The order also lacks details on expanding treatment capacity, raising concerns about where individuals placed in institutional care would be housed. Experts warn the move could incentivize cities to clear encampments as a condition for federal aid, with over 320 bills criminalizing homelessness already introduced in state legislatures. The executive order reflects a broader ideological shift in U.S. homelessness policy, potentially shaping future policy debates.