Overview

• President Donald Trump’s July 24 executive order compels states and localities to clear homeless encampments nationwide or risk losing federal housing and social service grants.
• The directive abandons the housing-first approach by mandating involuntary detention for individuals with substance use or mental health challenges.
• The administration has not allocated additional funding or issued detailed implementation guidelines, raising concerns about overburdened service providers and insufficient treatment capacity.
• The Supreme Court’s recent Grants Pass ruling expanded the authority of local authorities to clear camps and arrest unhoused individuals for loitering and drug use.
• Despite precedents in California, New York and Oregon, strained state and local budgets create uncertainty over compliance and the order’s practical feasibility.