On August 11, President Trump announced an intention to "rescue" the nation's capital by deploying federal officials to remove people experiencing homelessness from Washington, D.C. He listed those individuals alongside "violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, and drugged out maniacs," framing homelessness as criminality. Criminalizing homelessness shifts social problems into the realm of law enforcement and often leads to policing that targets vulnerable people rather than addressing underlying causes like housing, mental health, and addiction. Using police to solve social problems can escalate tensions, produce rights concerns, and set precedents for federal interventions in other cities.
On August 11, President Trump announced his intention to "rescue" the nation's capital.
A central feature of his plan involved using federal officials to remove people experiencing homelessness from the city people that he listed alongside "violent gangs, bloodthirsty criminals, roving mobs of wild youth, and drugged out maniacs."
On this episode, we're diving into what it means to criminalize homelessness, what it looks like when police officers are used to solve social problems, and what this D.C. takeover might portend for the rest of the country.
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