Trump Executive Order Criminalizes Homelessness Expands Institutionalization Nationwide

President Trump's 2025 executive order aims to address homelessness by encouraging local governments to remove unhoused individuals from the streets and increase institutionalization, including long-term civil commitments for those deemed a risk due to mental illness or substance use. This approach has sparked significant concern among homeless advocates, mental health professionals, and local organizations in Erie, Central Florida, and Kentucky, who warn that the order's vague language could lead to widespread criminalization of homelessness and forced institutionalization without adequate safeguards or wrap-around services. Experts argue that the focus on housing-first solutions alone is insufficient, as many homeless individuals require comprehensive mental health and addiction treatment, which the order does not ensure. Critics also highlight that the order reverses legal precedents protecting the rights of disabled individuals to live in the community and risks reviving inhumane practices of forced institutionalization. Senator Elizabeth Warren and other advocates contend that homelessness stems primarily from a housing shortage and that criminalizing homelessness will exacerbate the crisis rather than alleviate it. In Kentucky, where a similar anti-camping law has been implemented, advocates say such policies push vulnerable populations further into hiding, complicating outreach efforts, while supporters claim these measures improve public safety and encourage treatment.