Dear Law Center Supporter,
Trump’s expected action against homeless people in Washington, DC, will make homelessness worse.
As DC digs out from another snowstorm, Donald Trump has signaled that he will use his increasingly unchecked power to make homelessness worse, not better.
Based on reporting from the Washington Post, we expect Trump to issue an Executive Order, perhaps as soon as today, directing federal agencies to displace homeless people with no plan to house them. This is consistent with Trump's campaign promises to focus on expensive, inhumane, and ineffective solutions to
homelessness like camping bans and forced relocation to government-run detention camps.
As is true when cities across the country use policing and force to target people who have no choice but to live outside, Trump’s expected actions are reckless, expensive, and make homelessness worse. Like many of Trump’s plans, the impacts will fall hardest on Black and brown people, communities that are already experiencing homelessness at disparate rates.
The use of jails, tickets, and fines for people sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go is both ineffective and deeply unpopular, with almost three out of four adults nationwide rejecting this practice.
Real leaders focus on solutions, not on kicking people when they are down. If politicians like Donald Trump and Mayor Bowser truly want to see fewer people living outside, they must focus on the proven solutions to homelessness: housing and support.
To learn more about what the Trump administration might mean for homelessness and see how we are fighting back, join us for our Housing Not Handcuffs Mass Organizing call on February 20th, at 2 PM EST.
Click here for more information and to register.
In solidarity,
The National Homelessness Law Center Team
