Prospect - In its 2024 Grants Pass decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that governments may arrest or fine people for sleeping on public land. Since then, more than 200 municipalities have passed ordinances against people sleeping outdoors. In July, President Donald Trump issued an executive order further criminalizing homelessness and directing federal funding toward jurisdictions taking punitive approaches to unsheltered people. The executive order followed closely on the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which included massive cuts to health and nutrition programs for low-income communities. The administration is also proposing cuts and time limits for the Housing Choice Voucher Program (Section 8), which provides rental assistance. It is a perfect storm aimed at people who were already soaking wet.
The criminalization of homelessness is not new. People who have been incarcerated are ten times as likely to become unhoused as the general public, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Meanwhile, people living unsheltered had an average of 21 interactions with police over a six-month period, according to a study that the California Policy Lab conducted in fifteen states.
The old idea of punishing people for being unhoused is getting new, well-financed backing. The Cicero Institute advocates involuntary commitment to mental health facilities of unhoused people and is critical of “housing first” approaches that get people off the streets rapidly with offers of voluntary treatment. The Institute did not respond to requests for comment.
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