Mon Aug 18 06:10:00 UTC 2025: **Summary:**
A new executive order and model legislation are making it easier to criminalize homelessness in the U.S. This trend is fueled by organizations like the Cicero Institute, which advocates for punitive measures and blames the housing-first approach for the rise in homelessness, ignoring factors like rising housing costs. These policies are being enacted despite opposition and evidence suggesting that criminalization exacerbates the problem and that housing is key to addressing homelessness. The executive order may lead to tent cities and forced treatment, raising concerns about human rights and the lack of resources for mental health care. Experts worry that this trend is a step towards authoritarianism, targeting a vulnerable population with little public sympathy.
**News Article:**
**Criminalization of Homelessness Intensifies Under New Executive Order**
**[City, State] – [Date]** – A concerning trend is emerging across the United States as new policies and initiatives are making it easier to criminalize homelessness. Advocates warn that these measures, spearheaded by wealthy individuals and influential organizations, exacerbate the problem and push vulnerable individuals further into the cycle of poverty and incarceration.
President Donald Trump’s recent executive order, titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” directs federal funding towards jurisdictions that adopt punitive approaches to unsheltered people. This move follows the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which slashed funding for vital health and nutrition programs for low-income communities. Critics argue that these actions, coupled with proposed cuts to housing assistance programs, create a “perfect storm” for those already struggling with homelessness.
At the heart of this push is the Cicero Institute, a think tank advocating for involuntary commitment to mental health facilities and promoting model legislation that encourages states to criminalize homelessness. The Institute blames the “housing-first” approach for the rise in homelessness, despite evidence suggesting that rising housing costs are the primary driver.
“There is an explosion of anti-homeless laws … there [are] now literal billionaires with substantive political influence and a political structure peddling this misinformation across the country,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, campaign and communications director at the National Homelessness Law Center.
While some states have resisted these efforts, others have already enacted punitive legislation. For example, in Kentucky, such a law led to the citation of a woman in active labor. According to Andrew Bradley, senior director of policy and strategy at Prosperity Indiana, states bordering Kentucky have seen an influx of homeless people trying to escape criminalization.
Concerns are also rising about the potential for abuse and exploitation. Model legislation provides significant liability protection for private entities operating camps and shelters for the homeless, raising concerns about for-profit motives overriding humane treatment.
Advocates fear that the criminalization of homelessness is a step towards authoritarianism, targeting a vulnerable population with little public sympathy. Experts warn that these policies divert resources from effective solutions like affordable housing and mental health services, trapping individuals in a cycle of poverty and incarceration. As Tracie Bernardi Guzman, founder of the nonprofit Reentry Solutions CT Inc., stated, “People that turn people away for employment or turn people away for housing, they don’t realize they’re actually contributing to the recidivism rate. They are making society a lot less safe.”
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