On Thursday, California Governor Gavin Newsom issued an executive order directing state authorities in the state with the highest number of homeless individuals in the country to begin dismantling their encampments.
The Democratic governor’s order follows a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision favoring an Oregon city that fined homeless individuals for sleeping on the streets. The order urges state officials to “adopt humane and dignified policies to urgently address encampments on state property.”
“This order directs state agencies to move urgently to address dangerous encampments while supporting and assisting the individuals living in them—and provides guidance for cities and counties to do the same,” Newsom said in a statement. “There are simply no more excuses. It is time for everyone to do their part.”
Homeless encampments have become a severe problem in California, where housing costs are among the highest in the nation. Unlike New York, most jurisdictions in California do not guarantee the right to housing.
According to a 2023 report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development submitted to Congress, California has the highest number of homeless individuals in the country: over 180,000 out of an estimated 653,000 homeless people nationwide reside in the Golden State.
Here’s what we know about the executive order and the reactions from state officials and homeless advocates:
A U.S. Supreme Court decision allows states to isolate and arrest the homeless, say advocates
Newsom’s order was influenced by the U.S. Supreme Court decision last month, which rejected arguments that fining homeless individuals for sleeping on the streets violates the constitutional prohibition on “cruel and unusual” punishments.
The case focused on ordinances banning camping in Grants Pass, Oregon, which were challenged by several residents without permanent housing.
“The Eighth Amendment does not authorize federal judges to wrest those rights and responsibilities from the American people and in their place dictate this Nation’s homelessness policy,” wrote Gorsuch in his opinion for the conservative 6-3 majority. The three liberal justices dissented, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing that the ruling “punishes (people) for being homeless.”
This was the most significant appeal regarding homeless Americans to reach the Supreme Court in decades. It was closely watched by cities and states across the country grappling with a sharp rise in homelessness.
Last month, Newsom praised the Supreme Court’s decision, stating it “provides state and local officials the definitive authority to implement and enforce policies to clear unsafe encampments from our streets.”
Chris Herring, a sociology professor at the University of California Los Angeles, said Newsom “could have issued this order” even before the Supreme Court ruling.
“The only difference now is that states and localities are free to confine and arrest people even when there is no shelter available. Before the Supreme Court ruling, cities were in the position where they would have to provide shelter offers before removing encampments. Now… they will be able to carry out these encampment sweeps with the very real threat of issuing people incredibly expensive fines of which people cannot pay and often results in a warrant or an arrest or can result in incarceration,” Herring said.
Herring noted that the timing of the order was not surprising, as Newsom seeks to “politically clear his name of the homeless crisis, especially as he’s in the national spotlight right now amid the presidential election.”
What does the governor’s order say?
The governor’s order directs, but does not mandate, state agencies and departments to adopt “policies and plans consistent” with the existing Caltrans encampment clearance policies.
Caltrans provides “advance notice of clearance, works with local service providers to support those experiencing homelessness at the encampment, and stores personal property collected at the site” for at least 60 days, according to Newsom’s office press release.
In his order, Newsom urged local authorities to follow established policies and use funding from his investments in housing and social support programs to clear encampments, paying special attention to the most dangerous ones.
He also directed the State Interagency Council on Homelessness to “develop guidance and provide technical assistance” to local governments.
The state has allocated over $24 billion to assist local jurisdictions in providing services and comprehensive support to individuals living in encampments to address the housing crisis. The governor’s office also urged local authorities to apply for grants to expand psychiatric care and support individuals with mental health and addiction issues.
Where will people go?
Michael Weinstein, president of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, the parent organization of the Housing is a Human Right initiative, criticized Newsom’s actions in an interview with CNN, calling them an attempt to “criminalize poverty” and a continuation of “failed policies.”
“Governor Newsom, where do you expect people to go? This is a shameful moment in California history,” Weinstein said in his statement.
Jennifer Friedenbach, executive director of the Coalition on Homelessness in San Francisco, called Newsom’s order “a punch in the gut.”
She stated that thousands of people are already waiting for housing, and all shelter spaces in San Francisco are filled. Approximately 8,000 people remain homeless in the city every night, where 3,300 shelter beds are occupied.
“People who are living in encampments have “nowhere to go” when they are cleared. They lose their belongings, they face increased morbidity, they lose their paperwork making it harder to get services, they lose their access to social workers. These kinds of efforts exacerbate homelessness,” Friedenbach said.
What do studies say?
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass was also among those who opposed Newsom’s order, stating, “Strategies that just move people along from one neighborhood to the next or give citations instead of housing do not work.”
A study published this month by the Rand Corporation’s Center on Housing and Homelessness showed that efforts to clear encampments in Los Angeles had no impact on the issue or the number of people on the streets.
Researchers examined the clearing of encampments in Venice, Hollywood, and Skid Row in Los Angeles and “observed temporary declines in the unsheltered population that lasted two to three months on average” before returning to previous levels.
“For the first time in years, unsheltered homelessness has decreased in Los Angeles because of a comprehensive approach that leads with housing and services, not criminalization. We thank the Governor for his partnership thus far and hope that he will continue collaboration on strategies that work,” Bass said.
However, in San Francisco, Mayor London Breed’s representative stated that the city has already begun taking measures to clear encampments.
“Our city encampment teams and street outreach staff have been going out every day to bring people indoors, and to clean and clear encampments. This is why we are seeing a five year low in the City’s tent count on our streets,” said spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg also welcomed the order and said that Newsom’s approach to homelessness is similar to the one already being implemented in his city, where a 41% reduction in homelessness was recorded last year.
“This has to be about both ends of the strategy and the spectrum. It’s appropriate to say that people cannot be living with this kind of squalor on our streets,” Steinberg said.
The city police department told CNN that plans to clear tent encampments are still being developed but will involve a coalition of partners, including the San Francisco Department of Public Health, non-profit organizations, and the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing.
