What’s happening with the Executive Order?
Last week, as I was finishing my second cup of coffee, I watched Donald Trump sign an executive order that he says will “end crime and disorder on America’s streets.” The order instructs the attorney general to undo court rulings that make it hard to arrest people for sleeping outside and tells federal agencies to prioritise grants for cities that ban public camping and loitering. In typical Trump fashion, he insisted that moving people into “long‑term institutional settings” is the surest way to restore public order – a direct quote from the official announcement – while noting that 274,224 people were living on the streets during the last year of the previous administration White House fact sheet. He described encampments and open drug use as eyesores that “drive away business” and promised that this new approach would finally clean up our cities.
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Counting people without homes
The backdrop for this order is a historic surge in homelessness. The Department of Housing and Urban Development’s January 2024 Point‑in‑Time count found 771,480 people experiencing homelessness in a single night – an 18 % increase over 2023 and the largest one-year jump since the counts began Bipartisan Policy Center. Rising rents, expired pandemic assistance and natural disasters have swelled the numbers, pushing older adults into tents and cars. The same report notes that chronic homelessness reached 152,585 people and that there simply aren’t enough beds for everyone. This crisis isn’t confined to San Francisco or New York; it’s national, and it’s getting worse.
What’s in the order?
The executive order takes several major steps:
- Reverse legal protections: It directs the attorney general to seek reversal of court decisions and settlement agreements that limit involuntary commitment and encampment removals Presidential Action. This is a clear swipe at rulings like the Ninth Circuit’s Martin v. Boise decision that restricted camping bans.
- Grant incentives for enforcement: Federal grants for housing, health and transportation will now favour states and cities that crack down on open drug use, camping and squatting. Communities that don’t enforce these bans risk losing funding Presidential Action.
- Redirect funds: Money that currently supports affordable housing and homelessness programs will be diverted into building or expanding treatment centres. Recipients of federal homelessness aid could be required to undergo mental‑health or substance‑use treatment White House fact sheet.
- Ban harm‑reduction sites: Grants can no longer be used for supervised drug‑consumption sites, and the order aims to ensure that registered sex offenders aren’t housed with children White House fact sheet.
- Expand civil commitment: The attorney general must provide states with guidance on involuntary commitment standards and ensure that law‑enforcement officers have immunity when detaining people for treatment Presidential Action.
Trump justified these moves by claiming that most people on the streets are addicted or mentally ill and that decades of spending have failed to fix the problem. His message: we need to “shift them into institutions” to reclaim public spaces.
Legal and historical context
A month before the order, the U.S. Supreme Court decided City of Grants Pass v. Johnson, overturning Ninth Circuit precedent and allowing cities to fine or even jail people for sleeping outdoors even when shelters are full Supreme Court decision. The justices ruled that enforcing camping bans does not constitute “cruel and unusual punishment.” Trump’s order leans heavily on this decision, urging cities to use their newfound latitude to clear encampments.
But this approach isn’t new. Legal historians point out that America’s vagrancy laws trace back to colonial poor laws designed to punish visible poverty rather than address its causes. These statutes criminalised idleness, forced people into workhouses and reflected the belief that disorderly poor people threatened social stability. Modern policies that emphasise removal and confinement, critics argue, echo those same assumptions.
Pushback from advocates and cities
Housing advocates reacted swiftly. The National Low Income Housing Coalition warned that the order “makes it easier for states and localities to criminalise individuals experiencing homelessness and to force them into involuntary treatment” NLIHC statement. Coalition president Renee Willis argued that research shows voluntary “Housing First” programs are far more effective and that mandatory treatment can be traumatic NLIHC CEO statement.
The National Homelessness Law Center called the order “rooted in outdated, racist myths” and said it prioritises law enforcement over housing, cuts funding for harm‑reduction programs and will increase the number of people living in tents and cars National Homelessness Law Center. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said publicly that moving people from the street into jail won’t solve homelessness; she wants more affordable housing and services instead. Even the National Alliance to End Homelessness, while often careful in its statements, described parts of the order as vague and reminiscent of forced institutionalisation.
Will this actually help?
On the surface, building treatment centres and clearing encampments might sound like action. But here’s the catch: homelessness is driven largely by a lack of affordable housing and poverty, not by an unwillingness to accept shelter. Forcing people into treatment without guaranteeing stable housing often leads to a cycle of hospitalisation, incarceration and return to the streets. When encampments are cleared without offering homes, people just move to another corner. Cutting funds for harm‑reduction sites can increase overdose deaths and disease transmission. Redirecting housing money into institutions shrinks the already scarce supply of affordable units. In a country where 771,480 people went without homes on a single night Bipartisan Policy Center, every dollar counts.
Other ways forward
Advocates propose a different path: invest in permanent housing, support voluntary mental‑health and substance‑use treatment, raise wages and prevent evictions. Housing First programs, used in cities like Salt Lake City and abroad, provide homes without preconditions and wraparound services; they’ve been shown to reduce homelessness and improve health outcomes. Harm‑reduction facilities can save lives and connect people to care. And perhaps most important, we need to reckon with the fact that many unhoused people are working families, students and older adults squeezed by the housing market – not simply individuals choosing “vagrancy.”
Final thoughts
Watching this executive order play out feels like watching someone sweep dirt under a rug. Sure, the floor looks cleaner, but the mess hasn’t gone anywhere. As long as rents keep rising and wages stay flat, tents will return. Criminalising poverty might make some voters feel safer, but it does nothing to address why so many people can’t afford a home. Call me cynical, but I’d rather see our leaders invest in solutions that actually work than in policies that kick people when they’re down. ☕️
About the Author
Jack Beckett is a senior writer at The Charlotte Mercury. He lives for strong coffee and stronger conversations. When he’s not dissecting policy, he’s wandering Charlotte’s neighborhoods looking for stories that connect with readers. If you see him at a café, say hello—he may turn our chat into his next column.
Warm regards,
Jack Beckett
Senior writer, The Charlotte Mercury ☕️
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This article, “Trump’s 2025 Homelessness Order: What It Does and Why It Matters,” by Jack Beckett is licensed under CC BY‑ND 4.0.
“Trump’s 2025 Homelessness Order: What It Does and Why It Matters”
by Jack Beckett, The Charlotte Mercury (CC BY‑ND 4.0)
