The DOJ is also ordered to end consent decrees that limit state and local governments’ ability to commit the homeless ‘who are a risk to themselves or others.’
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on July 24 that takes federal resources for addressing homelessness and redirects them toward rehabilitation and programs that tackle substance abuse.
The order, dubbed “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets” by the White House, aims to shift the homeless into “long-term institutional settings for humane treatment.”
“Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens,” the White House said.
The order directs Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Scott Turner, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to make sure states and cities that enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting and track the location of sex offenders are given priority for federal grants.
The goal is to redirect federal funds to ensure that homeless people who are a “danger to themselves or others and suffer from serious mental illness or substance use disorder, or who are living on the streets and cannot care for themselves” are transferred to rehabilitation, treatment, and other facilities, the White House said.
The order did not say how much money would be allocated to the effort.
Bondi is also directed to end consent decrees that limit state and local governments’ ability to commit the homeless “who are a risk to themselves or others.”
In a statement to The Epoch Times, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president is “delivering on his commitment to Make America Safe Again and end homelessness across America.”
“By removing vagrant criminals from our streets and redirecting resources toward substance abuse programs, the Trump administration will ensure that Americans feel safe in their own communities and that individuals suffering from addiction or mental health struggles are able to get the help they need,” she said.
Trump’s order also accuses “harm reduction” or “safe consumption” drug programs of “facilitat[ing] illegal drug use and its attendant harm.”
By Jacob Burg
