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President Donald Trump’s plan to forcibly remove homeless people from the streets of Washington, DC has drawn sharp criticism from advocates, local officials, and legal experts, who warn it could worsen the crisis.
Speaking at an August 11 press conference, Trump vowed to clear encampments from “beautiful parks” and public spaces, promising to end “crime, bloodshed, bedlam and squalor.” The president also announced the deployment of 800 National Guard troops to the capital and said he intends to take control of the city’s police department.
However, Trump offered few details on where displaced individuals would go. While he claimed there are “many places” available, advocates point out that DC’s roughly 3,200 emergency shelter beds and 1,000 transitional housing spaces are already at full capacity. As of January 2025, about 1,000 people were sleeping on DC’s streets each night, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
In recent weeks, Trump has pledged to increase the use of “involuntary commitment” — forcibly detaining and medicating people without their consent — a move enabled by a 2024 Supreme Court ruling allowing cities to penalize sleeping on public property. DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb called the plan “unprecedented, unnecessary, and unlawful,” noting that violent crime in the city is already at a 30-year low.
Advocates argue the approach is dehumanizing, expensive, and ineffective. They emphasize that long-term solutions — such as permanent housing with support services, interim housing, and cash assistance — have proven more successful, citing Los Angeles’ 14% reduction in unsheltered homelessness following expanded outreach programs.
Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center stressed that homeless individuals are more often victims than perpetrators of crime, and that institutionalization has historically failed to address the root causes of homelessness.
Source: USA Today
