US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order urging cities and states to clear up homeless encampments and move people to treatment centers, Reuters reported.
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi to overturn state and federal legal precedents and consent decrees that limit local efforts to eliminate homeless encampments. It remains unclear how Bondi could unilaterally overturn such decisions.
The order comes after a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that allowed cities to ban homeless camping. The National Coalition for the Homeless condemned the order, saying it would undermine legal protections for the homeless and those with mental health conditions. The group said the Trump administration has a troubling history of disregarding civil rights and due process and warned that it would worsen the homelessness crisis.
Trump said people living in homeless camps should be referred to mental health and addiction treatment facilities. He did not mention any plans to expand treatment centers or provide long-term housing.
An estimated 771,480 people were homeless overnight in the United States in 2024, an 18% increase from the previous year, according to the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness. Of those, about 36 percent were living on the streets, in vehicles or in camps.
The National Homelessness Law Center said the order, combined with cuts to housing and health care, would increase homelessness. "Forced treatment is unethical, ineffective and illegal. These actions will push more people into homelessness and divert resources from those in need," the agency said.
Trump's order gives federal grants priority to cities that implement bans on public camping, drug use and squatting. It also blocks funding for controlled substance use facilities.