trumpty's Incarcerating People Who are Unhoused

‘Civil commitment’ means locking up people without housing

“Civil commitment”—rounding up people and locking them up—is Donald Trump’s answer to the nation’s homeless problem, as set out in another executive edict. You need not be a sociologist to understand that homelessness, which afflicts hundreds of thousands of people, results from multiple factors, including lack of affordable housing, rampant evictions, and insufficient access to drug addiction and mental health treatment. This regime and past GOP administrations that have slashed funding for housing, addiction treatment, and mental health have inarguably worsened the problem.

Rather than provide additional funding or support programs that do work (e.g., fund Medicaid anti-addiction programs, or support “housing first” programs to get people off the streets quickly and then provide social services), Trump’s decree seeks to bludgeon states and localities to criminalize homelessness, by fining or locking up people living on the streets without shelter. Such a harsh rationale only underscores that Trump prefers barbarism to responsible social policy with adequate funding.

The ACLU responded swiftly to Trump’s executive pronouncement. “Pushing people into locked institutions and forcing treatment won’t solve homelessness or support people with disabilities. The exact opposite is true—institutions are dangerous and deadly, and forced treatment doesn’t work,” a written statement declared. “We need safe, decent, and affordable housing as well as equal access to medical care and voluntary, community-based mental health and evidence-based substance use treatment from trusted providers.” Instead, Trump is sucking $1Trillion out of Medicaid, “the number one payer for addiction and mental health services.”