Trump admin brainstorms aggressive tactics to clear homeless camps in cities and forcibly hospitalize people, report [View all]

Source: The Independent

Saturday 26 April 2025 21:14 BST


Officials from the Justice Department who manage grant distributions are brainstorming ways to clear homeless encampments and increase the involuntary hospitalization of individuals with mental illnesses, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post. This represents the latest indication that the Trump administration is following through on commitments to aggressively remove homeless people from public spaces, as President Donald Trump spoke of during the 2024 campaign.

Just last month, the president issued an executive order aimed at making the District of Columbia “safe and beautiful,” which instructed the National Park Service to remove all homeless encampments from federal land in the capital. In the past, he has spoken of housing the homeless in tent cities on inexpensive land on the outskirts of cities and jailing those who refuse “treatment.”

The email was sent on Thursday evening to employees in the Office of Justice Programs and included eight questions asking for input on how best to direct resources to issues concerning homelessness and mental illness. Recipients have until Wednesday to submit their responses.

“What can DOJ do to more efficiently shift chronic vagrants away from the public square and into a more concentrated space so that order can be restored and resources and services can be deployed more effectively?” one of the questions read. The email stated that the White House had directed the department and other agencies to provide legislative, funding, and other solutions for issues related to homelessness, mental health, and more.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-clear-homeless-encampments-mental-illness-b2740126.html