Trump Signs Sweeping Order To Crack Down On Homelessness, Prioritize Treatment Over Housing

U.S. President Donald Trump has signed a controversial executive order aimed at overhauling how homelessness is managed across the country.

Signed on Thursday, July 24, the order pushes for aggressive changes that would make it easier for states and cities to clear homeless encampments and compel individuals into mental health or addiction treatment — including involuntary civil commitment for those deemed "a risk to themselves or others."

“Endemic vagrancy, disorderly behavior, sudden confrontations, and violent attacks have made our cities unsafe,” the executive order declares.

The directive marks a major shift in federal homelessness policy. It seeks to divert funding away from the widely adopted "Housing First" approach — which prioritizes getting people into stable housing before addressing other issues — and instead favors programs that require sobriety and treatment as a condition for assistance. Cities that enforce bans on homeless camping are also set to receive priority for federal grants.

Under the order, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation are instructed to evaluate their grant programs and prioritize areas that crack down on illicit drug use, urban squatting, loitering, and camping to the “maximum extent permitted by law.”

However, critics argue that the executive order is both inhumane and counterproductive.

“This forces people to choose between compassionate, data-driven solutions like housing, or treating mental illness and homelessness as a crime,” said Jesse Rabinowitz of the National Homelessness Law Center.

Ann Oliva, CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, added, “Institutionalizing people with mental illness — especially those who are unhoused — is neither safe, dignified, nor backed by evidence.”

The order also instructs the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to defund addiction treatment programs that include harm reduction strategies — such as providing clean syringes or overdose-reversing drugs like naloxone. This move could disrupt frontline services that aim to reduce fatalities from fentanyl and other dangerous street drugs.

Thursday’s executive action builds on a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision last year, which gave cities the authority to penalize individuals for sleeping outdoors even when no shelter space is available. Since that ruling, over 100 cities in more than two dozen states have implemented or tightened bans on homeless encampments.

While supporters of the order say it will restore public safety and help individuals get the treatment they need, critics warn it could deepen the crisis and criminalize poverty rather than solve it.