An executive order signed Thursday by President Donald Trump would allow cities to remove homeless people from the streets and institutionalize them.
Titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” the order encourages local governments to revive civil commitment, a process used to place people with mental health conditions into treatment facilities without their consent. It also directs some Cabinet leaders to prioritize federal funding to cities that align with Trump’s lead by taking a hard stance against open drug use and street camping.
“Shifting homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings for humane treatment through the appropriate use of civil commitment will restore public order,” the order reads. “Surrendering our cities and citizens to disorder and fear is neither compassionate to the homeless nor other citizens.”
The order also requires the Department of Justice to evaluate whether homeless people arrested for federal crimes are “sexually dangerous persons.”
Involuntary civil commitment has been used preventively to confine people before they can harm themselves or others. But in more recent decades, mental health advocates have pushed to orient facilities toward treatment rather than incarceration.
In a statement Friday, the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development said Trump’s move “goes against every proven best practice to reduce homelessness.”
“This executive order on homelessness is yet another attempt to drive a stake of fear, division and hate through the heart of every community in our nation,” the department’s statement reads. “Maryland believes in more, and our armor is strong.”
The agency added that its Housing First program has “reduced unsheltered homelessness by 42%” statewide since 2015.
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