Will Trump's order encouraging removal of homeless from city streets 'restore public order' — or eat up public money?

Yahoo

9 hours ago

Homelessness has long been a significant issue in the U.S. — and things only seem to be getting worse.
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The federal government said the number of people experiencing homelessness on a single night in 2024 was the highest on record at 771,480. This figure has been climbing every year since 2017, when it was at 550,996.
In order to address the 'root cause' of homelessness and 'restore public order,' President Trump recently signed an executive order to make it easier for states to remove people from the streets and get them into long-term institutions for treatment of addictions and mental health conditions.
This isn't the only major action against homelessness this summer. In late June, the Supreme Court ruled that homeless individuals can be arrested or fined for sleeping in public areas.
In a statement to USA Today, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump is "delivering on his commitment to Make America Safe Again and end homelessness across America."
However, the move is not necessarily being looked at as a positive one.
What the new executive order on homelessness entails
On July 24, President Trump signed an executive order titled "Ending Crime and Disorder on America's Streets."
The order says that 'endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks' have made America's cities unsafe, and the 'overwhelming majority' of people experiencing homelessness are either addicted to drugs, have a mental condition, or both.
It directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit state and local governments' ability to commit individuals on the streets who are a risk to themselves or others. This aims to make forcibly moving people into institutions easier.
Federal grants will be prioritized for states that enforce prohibitions on acts related to homelessness, like open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting. Funding will also be redirected away from 'housing first' programs and so-called 'harm reduction' or 'safe consumption' efforts.
'At a time when unaddressed housing costs are driving record numbers of people into homelessness, this order demonstrates a lack of focus and understanding on what our communities — both red and blue — need to address this crisis,' said Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 'Instead, it largely focuses on punishing people for being homeless and denying desperately needed funds to overwhelmed and under-resourced frontline workers.'
The nonprofit criticized the attack on the 'housing first' approach, the push for forced institutionalization, and the violation of the right to privacy for the homeless.
The National Homelessness Law Center said it "strongly condemns" Trump's order, saying it "deprives people of their basic rights and makes it harder to solve homelessness." The group also said that the order "does nothing to lower the cost of housing or help people make ends meet." If anything, it expects that more people will be driven into homelessness.
'As a licensed mental health professional, I know that forced treatment is unethical, ineffective, and illegal," Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center told USA Today.
Alexandria, Va., Mayor Alyia Gaskins called Trump's executive order "cruel" in an NPR interview. "It requires states and cities like mine to demonstrate aggressive enforcement," she said. "It ends support for housing first policies. It encourages the expanded use of law enforcement all at a time when we know that the criminalization of homelessness doesn't work."
The National Low Income Housing Coalition said that Trump's executive order will 'do nothing to address the underlying causes of America's housing crisis and instead make it harder for states and communities to address these challenges.'
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How homelessness policies impact taxpayers
When cities experience high levels of homelessness, it can impact residents in many ways. It can cause them to feel unsafe in their own backyards and result in lower property values.
So addressing the homelessness crisis could yield positive results for residents and property owners — provided it's done the right way.
Critics of Trump's approach feel that the order does not address the root of the issue and instead focuses on mandating institutionalization and treating homelessness as a crime. It rejects the housing first approach to the problem, which involves quickly moving the homeless into affordable housing and then addressing their other needs.
The National Low Income Housing Coalition says the country is short 7.1 million affordable rental homes. If the critics are right, we could see homeless numbers increase.
Forcing the homeless into facilities could also burden a health care system that's already overwhelmed and seeing cuts in federal spending with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Experts say there aren't enough facilities to treat the homeless.
"The order seeks to make it easier to commit people with mental illness who can't care for themselves, while also promising grants and other assistance to help ramp up commitments, and threatening to divert funding away from places that don't push people into treatment facilities 'to the maximum extent permitted by law,'" noted CalMatters. "But the order doesn't include funding for new mental health or addiction treatment beds. In a state already struggling with a lack of resources, some experts said Trump's order for more forced treatment feels hollow."
'There really is not a lot of bed space. And with budgets being strapped the way that they are these days, particularly with cuts coming from D.C., it's going to — states and communities are going to be hard-pressed to really build those facilities and be able to meet the needs of the people that are looking to be — that people want to put away,' said David Ovalle, national reporter focusing on opioids and addictions for The Washington Post, to PBS.
If states decide to foot at least a portion of the bill for housing and treating the homeless long-term, it could divert critical health care resources away from other people in need.
It could also force municipalities to increase taxes if they're not given enough federal funding to enforce treatment, burdening taxpayers even more.
Addressing the nation's homelessness crisis is crucial. And if done correctly, everyone benefits. Unfortunately, it seems like the current approach may be one in which almost everybody loses out.
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.