President Donald Trump recently signed an executive order as part of his initiative to “Make America Safe Again,” allowing cities and states to remove homeless individuals from the streets and place them in treatment centers.
The order, named “Ending Vagrancy and Restoring,” was signed by Trump on Thursday afternoon.
According to the order, the number of individuals living on the streets in the United States reached a record high during the last year of the Biden administration.
Attorney General Pam Bondi has been directed by the order to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that prevent cities and states from relocating homeless individuals from the streets to treatment centers.
Although the amount of funding for this initiative is unclear, Trump’s order reallocates federal funds to ensure that homeless individuals relocated receive rehabilitation, treatment, and other necessary services.
Furthermore, the order mandates Bondi to collaborate with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to prioritize federal grants for cities and states that enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping, loitering, squatting, and track the location of sex offenders.
The order also specifies that discretionary grants for substance-use disorder prevention, treatment, and recovery programs should not support drug injection sites or illicit drug use.
Recent statistics indicate that homelessness in the U.S. increased by 18% from 2023 to 2024, as reported by Housing and Urban Development’s annual homelessness assessment report released in January.
Trump has previously expressed a commitment to improving American cities, particularly Washington, D.C., the nation’s capital.
During a speech in March, Trump emphasized his goal of creating a crime-free capital, ensuring the safety and cleanliness of the city for residents and visitors alike.
