President Trump directed the Justice Department on Thursday to eliminate laws and regulations that hinder cities’ ability to remove homeless people sleeping on streets, saying the move is necessary to crack down on crime and drug use.
Under the executive order, Attorney General Pam Bondi will take steps to “reverse judicial precedents and consent decrees” that limit local and state governments from removing homeless people from the streets and help move them into treatment centers.
The order also commits federal funding to move people on the streets into treatment centers, though it was not immediately clear how much money is being allocated.
“Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order,” Mr. Trump’s directive stated. “Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens. My administration will take a new approach focused on protecting public safety.”
Mr. Trump also directed Ms. Bondi to work with the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Department of Transportation to prioritize federal grants for states and cities that “enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering.”
The order requires that any discretionary grants for substance use prevention, treatment and recovery do not go toward funding “drug injection sites or illicit drug use,” and aims to ban sex offenders who receive homelessness assistance from being housed with children.
Mr. Trump had pledged to remove homeless individuals from the nation’s streets during the 2024 presidential campaign.
“When I am back in the White House, we will use every tool, lever, and authority to get the homeless off our streets,” Mr. Trump said in a campaign video.
Mr. Trump’s order comes after the Supreme Court ruled last month that people without homes can be arrested and fined for sleeping in public spaces. In a 6-3 decision, the court’s conservative justices upheld a ban in Grants Pass, Oregon, that prohibits homeless residents from sleeping outdoors. Homeless residents of Grants Pass face fines starting at $250 and jail time for repeat offenses.
More than 771,800 people lived in the U.S. without housing in 2024, according to an annual count by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. It was the highest total ever recorded, representing an 18.1% increase from 2023, when HUD counted 650,000 people.
The problem has become more acute as the cost of housing has continued to rise in recent years. At the same time, large cities struggling with crime and drug use have pushed for stricter laws banning tents and sleeping in public spaces.
In March, Mr. Trump urged Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser to clean up all of the “unsightly” homeless encampments around the city, saying it was embarrassing when world leaders visit the city, and saying if she was “not capable of doing so, we will be forced to do it for her!”
He later signed an executive order directing the National Park Service to clear all homeless encampments on federal land. He also signed a separate order in March aiming to dismantle the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.