Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) said Tuesday the state will file a brief in a court case blocking San Francisco from clearing homeless encampments.
“I hope this goes to the Supreme Court,” Newsom said, speaking with Politico in Sacramento. “And that’s a hell of a statement coming from a progressive Democrat.”
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Newsom said federal judges have “gone too far” in ruling the city is barred from cleaning up homeless encampments until more shelter beds are available.
In August, Newsom criticized U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu, who issued the injunction in December barring the city from clearing encampments in San Francisco.
“The San Francisco order, it’s preposterous and it’s inhumane,” Newsom said in an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, noting the ban is “incredibly frustrating.”
Ryu’s preliminary order came after the Coalition on Homelessness sued the city in September 2022 for clearing homeless encampments, alleging they were in violation of a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals decision that ruled a firm offer of shelter must be issued before citing and arresting people living on the streets.
Democratic lawmakers blasted the ruling, saying San Francisco streets are becoming unmanageable and overrun and that individuals are refusing shelter despite shelter beds being available. Multiple stores have closed down in the city, citing safety concerns and poor street conditions.
“People’s lives are at risk; it’s unacceptable what’s happening on the streets and sidewalks,” Newsom said on Tuesday, adding, “We’re now complicit, all of us, at all levels of government and all branches of government.”
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Newsom has echoed San Francisco Mayor London Breed's statements calling the sweeping bans inhumane. The Democratic mayor joined protesters last month outside the federal courthouse to highlight billions of dollars the city has spent to help the homeless population.
"The homeless coalition has held San Francisco hostage for decades,” Breed said. “It is time for their reign to end."