Overview

• US Park Police and city crews dismantled roughly 75 homeless encampments on federal land in early August, with tents bulldozed and personal belongings removed to landfill.
• The March “Making the District of Columbia Safe and Beautiful” executive order empowered the Interior Secretary to enforce a no-tolerance camping policy and heighten penalties for illegal encampments.
• President Trump deployed National Guard troops and federal agents and federalized aspects of the Metropolitan Police Department to support the sweep and crime-control directives.
• D.C. officials filed a lawsuit alleging the federal takeover of the city’s police exceeds legal authority under the Home Rule Act and seeking to halt enforcement.
• Homeless-services advocates warn that local shelters are at capacity and relocation plans remain undefined, raising concerns over forced removals and civil-rights violations.