What we think: "ENDING CRIME AND DISORDER ON AMERICA’S STREETS, Executive Orders July 24, 2025"

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    President Trump's newly signed executive order to addresses homelessness. It encourages local governments to remove outdoor encampments and place individuals into mental health or addiction treatment. Funding is being redirected toward programs that prioritize sobriety and enforce bans on drug use and urban camping, marking a move away from the longstanding “Housing First” strategy that prioritized placing people in stable housing before requiring treatment.

    The decision has ignited sharp criticism from homelessness and public health advocates. Organizations like the National Homelessness Law Center and the National Alliance to End Homelessness argue that institutionalizing unhoused people with mental illness is not a dignified or evidence-based approach. It criminalizes homelessness, treating people as public safety threats rather than individuals in need of support. The order doesn’t address the shortage of affordable housing, which remains the leading cause of homelessness. The decision cuts to Medicaid and community-based care, and it weaken the safety net for those needing treatment.

    This policy also follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that allows cities to penalize unhoused individuals for sleeping outdoors, even if no shelter beds are available. Over 100 cities have responded by passing or expanding camping bans, and Trump’s executive order is expected to accelerate that trend by tying federal funding to enforcement. Critics view the move as criminalizing poverty and mental illness, while supporters, including conservative think it restores public safety and directs help to those who need treatment most.


Trump signs an executive order to make it easier to remove homeless people from streets

President Trump’s executive order on homelessness is misguided

- Hai Nguyen

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