In a move that is already sending shockwaves across the nation, President Donald J. Trump signed a sweeping executive order Wednesday morning titled Ending Vagrancy and Restoring Order, which directs cities and local governments to begin the immediate removal of homeless individuals from public spaces and redirect federal resources toward rehabilitation and treatment centers.
The order is being hailed by administration officials as a bold step toward restoring law and order in America’s cities, while critics warn that it could lead to mass displacement without addressing root causes.
Standing at the White House flanked by senior advisers, law enforcement officials, and addiction recovery advocates, President Trump delivered a fiery speech announcing the order, stating that “the era of chaos, filth, and lawlessness on American streets is over.”
The president vowed to bring back “dignity to our cities,” which he said had been “taken over by permanent encampments, dangerous drug use, and violent instability.”
“For too long, radical Democrat-led cities have allowed vagrancy, open drug use, and disorder to destroy the quality of life for American families,” Trump declared.
“Today, I am signing an executive order that will push these cities to do what they have refused to do—clean up their streets, restore public safety, and bring real help to the homeless through treatment, not tents.”
The executive order directs the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in coordination with the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Justice, to cut off certain categories of federal funding to localities that allow large-scale homeless encampments in public areas, including parks, sidewalks, and transit hubs.
Those funds will instead be funneled into expanding inpatient addiction recovery, mental health facilities, and faith-based shelters that agree to partner with the federal program.
Under the order, cities receiving federal grants must present a “Homelessness Relocation and Rehabilitation Plan” within 45 days, detailing how they will remove homeless individuals from public spaces and facilitate their transfer to federally approved treatment or transitional housing facilities. Failure to comply could result in loss of federal grants related to housing, sanitation, and transportation.
“America is not a homeless encampment,” said Trump’s Housing Secretary Ben Carson, who stood beside the president during the announcement. “We believe in compassion, but real compassion is helping people off the streets and into recovery—not enabling them to slowly die in squalor while taxpayers foot the bill for syringes and chaos.”
Carson confirmed that HUD would launch an aggressive review of major cities’ homelessness policies, prioritizing grant funding for cities that demonstrate progress in reducing visible street homelessness and improving public order.
The president’s announcement comes amid rising public frustration over what many view as uncontrolled urban decay in cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Portland, and New York, where sprawling encampments, open-air drug use, and property crime have become flashpoints of political debate. Trump’s order appears to capitalize on that anger, portraying the homeless crisis not just as a humanitarian issue but as a threat to public safety and national order.
The order includes language emphasizing the protection of “public peace, hygiene, and dignity,” and declares homelessness “a national disorder crisis that requires federal action when local governments abdicate responsibility.” The administration’s framing reflects a broader ideological push: that homelessness is not just a social problem but a failure of progressive governance.
Trump’s director of the Office of Urban Policy, Stephen Miller, echoed that sentiment. “We are no longer tolerating cities using homeless people as props for funding while abandoning them to die on the sidewalk,” Miller said. “These are human beings, not political tools. They need real help, and that begins with removing them from harm’s way.”
The executive order sets in motion a three-phase strategy:
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Immediate Clean-Up Mandate – Cities must begin removing homeless encampments from public spaces, prioritizing areas near schools, playgrounds, transit systems, and high-traffic commercial districts. Law enforcement and public health officials are authorized to assist in relocation operations.
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Federal Facility Expansion – The Department of Health and Human Services will oversee the rapid expansion of federally licensed treatment centers, including repurposing dormant federal buildings, military barracks, and unused VA hospitals into housing and recovery centers. Trump emphasized that “no one will be thrown on a bus and forgotten—we will build a path to dignity.”
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Restorative Work and Housing Programs – Homeless individuals brought into federal centers will be assessed for addiction, mental illness, and employability. Those who are able will be enrolled in new “Restoration Through Work” programs, which include job training, agricultural work, military-style discipline initiatives, and community service. The goal is long-term rehabilitation and reentry into society—not temporary fixes.
Already, conservative leaders across the country are applauding the order. Texas Governor Greg Abbott said the move “sends the right message,” adding that “lawlessness, whether in the form of fentanyl dens or violent squatter camps, has no place in a civilized society.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued a statement calling the order “an example of federal leadership that respects states’ rights while prioritizing human dignity and public order.”
But critics argue that the policy is draconian and risks criminalizing poverty. The ACLU issued a rapid response condemning the order as “an unconstitutional, authoritarian overreach that threatens the civil rights of unhoused Americans.”
Homeless advocacy organizations say the order could lead to forced relocations without sufficient infrastructure to handle the influx of people into treatment centers.
“This isn’t about compassion—it’s about optics,” said Maria Torres, director of the National Coalition for Housing Justice. “What this executive order does is allow cities to sweep poor people off the streets to make neighborhoods look better for tourists and businesses, without guaranteeing real care or shelter.”
However, administration officials pushed back strongly on that narrative. “The far-left wants to keep people in tents, addicted, and dependent,” said Kellyanne Conway, now serving as a senior urban affairs advisor. “We’re offering structure, safety, and support. We’re saying you don’t have to live in filth to have freedom.”
Public polling suggests that the political calculus may be in Trump’s favor. A recent Rasmussen poll found that 61% of Americans support the removal of homeless encampments from public spaces if alternative housing or treatment is provided.
Among independent voters, the support was even higher—suggesting that the issue may become a key flashpoint in the upcoming 2026 midterms and potentially the 2028 presidential race.
Trump made it clear that he views the order as not just a policy action but a cultural pivot. “We are bringing back the America we know and love,” he said. “A place where children can walk to school without stepping over needles, where veterans aren’t abandoned to sidewalks, and where cities stand tall again—clean, safe, and proud.”
In a symbolic moment, Trump signed the executive order using a pen handed to him by a formerly homeless Marine Corps veteran who had completed a federal rehabilitation program. “This man represents what’s possible,” Trump said. “And we’re going to help thousands more like him.”
As implementation begins, legal battles are almost certain. Some progressive city leaders are already vowing not to comply, while others say they will fight in court to protect their existing homeless outreach models. But Trump, never one to shy away from confrontation, seemed prepared.
“If they don’t want the funding, we’ll take it to the states that do,” he said. “We are moving forward—with or without their permission. The American people have waited long enough.”
And so begins the rollout of Ending Vagrancy and Restoring Order, a national campaign with high stakes and even higher controversy—one that seeks to reshape how the country deals with homelessness, addiction, and urban decay, and which may very well define the next chapter of Trump’s presidency.
