History has already shown us that forcing people into detention camps is never okay, but that's exactly what Utah is trying to do. Trump and billionaires like Palantir's Joe Lonsdale have brought us to this moment. Hear @jesserbnwtz explain the connection:

Coming soon: our Youth Team is hosting a virtual summit with legal information, resources, and best practices for young people who engage in contract and gig work and for Youth Action Board members, consultants, and staff. For more info & to register, scan the QR code above or visit buff.ly/AuvYp5I

Congratulations to our Pro Bono partner Lowenstein Sandler on being named as a Bloomberg Law Pro Bono Innovators 2025 Honoree! Their work has included representing 50 unhoused people in NJ who faced arrest following #JohnsonVGrantsPass. Read more:

As ICE and the Trump admin continue to terrorize communities across the country, we will continue doing everything we can to help protect and defend our homeless neighbors. Find our comprehensive anti-ICE resource hub here:

Homeless Persons' Memorial Day is held on the darkest day of the year. Yet amongst this darkness and sorrow, we must continue to fight for a country where everybody has the housing and support they need to thrive. Our statement:

Advocates in Pennsylvania are calling for #HousingNotHandcuffs: Rep. Ismail Smith-Wade-El (D-Lancaster) urged elected leaders to reprioritize their expenses from prisons to affordable housing, putting “human interest before business or political interests.” buff.ly/iHzf3g9

"In an unaffordable city, the harsh reality of street homelessness is not a personal choice. As Mamdani said, it is a political choice. And, until now, our political leaders have failed us by making the same choices year after year." buff.ly/Ijku3Tw

Our statement in response to incoming Mayor Mamdani's commitment to end sweeps and focus on the solution: housing No More Sweeps: We Need Housing!

Yesterday, we proudly stood with homeless New Yorkers alongside Urban Justice Center to protest the Adams admin's cruel sweeps policies. We're hopeful for the incoming Mamdani admin's proposed Department of Community Safety, which would shift police away from homelessness policy. buff.ly/CKrlbJi

BREAKING: Utah Gov Cox's proposed state budget includes $45 million taxpayer dollars to build & force homeless people into a massive government-run detention camp 🚨 Meanwhile, just $7.6mil was proposed for school lunches, & $500k for a literacy campaign. buff.ly/zVWThH6

We’re proud to be part of this coalition suing the Trump admin to block their anti-homeless funding agenda. The admin’s actions threaten to push people back onto the streets at the peak of winter. We will fight back in court.

Today, instead of using their power to help people pay rent, access healthcare, or lower the cost of groceries, Trump doubled down on backwards polices that will force 170,000 people-who are currently stably housed- back into homelessness. Our statement: buff.ly/qA4H2kk

As soon as the federal government reopens, we expect the Trump Administration to implement draconian changes to homeless services funding that will force 170,000 people who are now stably housed back into homelessness. Read our full statement:

BREAKING: Inspired by Trump, Utah moves forward with plan to force homeless people into detention camps. “It’s what they did in World War II in Japanese detention camps--similar to rounding up Jews or other people Nazis didn’t like.” @jesserbnwtz.bsky.social buff.ly/0B3ndrk

In partnership with the Youth Compensation Workgroup, we're hosting a summit in January for Youth Action Boards, youth gig workers/consultants, and the organizations that work with them. We want to hear from YOU about what you want to learn or if you have knowledge to share! Visit: buff.ly/IzyWHxn

Trump is sending more ICE and other feds to San Francisco to terrorize more homeless residents. Our anti-ICE resource hub includes Know Your Rights materials, guidance for homeless service providers on what to do before, during, and after a raid, & more. housingnothandcuffs.org/iceraidresou...

TOMORROW: Join us and our partners @WINNYC @ACLU with Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the Special Rapporteur on the right to adequate housing, for the panel discussion "Ending Homeless Criminalization, Enforcing Human Rights." Register here: buff.ly/CkIwnBh

NEW REPORT: The Criminalization of Homelessness & Mental Health Conditions in the US, published in collaboration with the UMiami Law Human Rights Clinic, examines how forced institutionalization is increasingly used to criminalize unhoused individuals with mental health conditions. buff.ly/4tB8mQG

Jails and tickets won't end homelessness. It ends with housing. It ends with supportive services. It ends with outreach. That’s what SB 634 is about. #SB634 @CAGovernor @CalMatters buff.ly/8dSgYTf

We're hiring! Our comms team is looking for a Communications & Media Relations Associate committed to building power & changing the narrative about homelessness to ensure everyone has a safe place to live. For instructions to apply, view the full listing: homelesslaw.org/about/career...

We are horrified by the violent rhetoric and violence targeting homeless people seen in the past week. Still, it is not new. For years, politicians and the media have demonized and vilified homeless people. Their actions have devastating and fatal consequences. Our statement: buff.ly/c8CZLyw

ACTION ALERT: Tomorrow (9/10), Congress will discuss a bill that would put people in jail or fine them $500 for sleeping outside in DC. Contact your reps today via bit.ly/STOPHB5163 In DC and across the country, we need #HousingNotHandcuffs #FreeDC

“Some people experiencing homelessness have mental illness. That’s not the cause of homelessness. The cause of homelessness is that housing is too expensive. Institutionalizing folks doesn’t treat the root cause of the problem,” said Jesse Rabinowitz of the Law Center. buff.ly/KK4ufd2

Trump says Chicago is next in line for his fascist takeover, however: "The city believes firmly that being unhoused is not a crime, so we will not be assisting with any sort of arrest or enforcement toward the unhoused community..." said CHO Sendy Soto. buff.ly/0PEVq6Y

Clearing encampments makes it harder for people to get into housing. People’s IDs that they need to get into housing are destroyed, people’s medications are thrown away, people’s bikes that they need to get to work are often trashed.

"Once people are homeless, Trump has no plan to address it other than literally rounding people up and putting them in detention camps,” said Jesse Rabinowitz of the Law Center.

"Why can Trump always find money for things he wants to, like half a million dollars for an ICE music video or to deploy federal agents to occupy DC, but not to invest in the housing and support that people really need?" asked Jesse Rabinowitz of the Law Center.

"The crowd’s anger grows, and I notice something that is becoming a trend. Trump’s troops retreat when citizens rise up." As Trump's authoritarian takeover of DC continues, residents of the district aren't making it easy for the occupying troops.

Trump is spending over $1 MILLION per day to have the National Guard harass homeless people. In contrast, providing housing to every homeless person in DC would cost ~ $255k. The solution to homelessness is housing and supports, not handcuffs and jails. buff.ly/pMYtwCE

"We have to redefine what safety means. We know that safe communities are communities where people have their needs met. And those needs include housing and support." Hear Jesse Rabinowitz of the Law Center discuss Trump's authoritarian takeover of DC on NPR's Code Switch : buff.ly/XxGEiTN

Taxpayers are spending over $400,000 a day for Trump to use the DC National Guard for photo ops. Why can they find money for that but not for housing and support? $240k can solve homelessness for a year for 9 people. www.commondreams.org/news/trump-h...

The past 24 hours in DC have been chaos. FBI, Secret Service, DHS, & DC police are roaming the district, forcibly displacing homeless residents & throwing away their belongings. This is inhumane, wastes taxpayer dollars, and doesn't solve homelessness. housingnothandcuffs.org/2025/08/15/h...

UPDATE: Unlawful arrests and forced displacement of homeless D.C. residents expected to begin this morning at 10 AM with federal and local police throwing away tents at 62 encampments; arrests are expected to begin at nightfall to avoid media attention.https://buff.ly/gRAsxWS

We also see a lot of states rejecting the failed policy of ticketing and arresting unhoused people. Analysis of state-level bills criminalizing homelessness this past year by @homeless-law.bsky.social found that nearly 80% were voted down or tabled. housingnothandcuffs.org/wp-content/u...

ALERT: The Trump admin has started evicting homeless encampments with no notice to residents or providers, following his federal takeover of D.C. Get the latest updates from @streetsensedc: buff.ly/ZGJDQUv

Trump began a federal takeover of DC today, testing the forced displacement of unhoused people. Locking up people you don’t don’t want to see is textbook authoritarianism. When a fascist tells you who they are, believe them. @jesserbnwtz.bsky.social: housingnothandcuffs.org/2025/08/11/h...

Let's be clear: Trump's executive order on homelessness and mental health will hurt unhoused Black Americans first and worst. The EO makes it easier for law enforcement to forcibly institutionalize homeless people, which will lead to even more racial profiling and discrimination.

"A new Trump order calls for arresting and ticketing unhoused people. My state tried that — and homelessness just got worse." #HousingNotHandcuffs Read more from Shameka Parrish-Wright of VOCAL-KY:

"The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick." Learn more: Read the @homeless-law.bsky.social's statement and join their #HousingNotHandcuffs campaign: housingnothandcuffs.org/join/

🚨Trump is pushing states to forcibly institutionalize people for experiencing homelessness. “The safest communities are those with the most housing and resources, not those that make it a crime to be poor or sick," @jesserbnwtz.bsky.social buff.ly/SmtsxzC

The city of Grants Pass may have won their Supreme Court case, but it hasn't decreased homelessness. "Criminalizing homelessness hasn’t worked for the past 40 years, since these laws have started building up, and it never will.” - Eric Tars of the Law Center.

BREAKING: Trump’s new Executive Order directs states to treat homelessness and mental illness as crimes. Criminalization doesn’t help anyone – we need housing and healthcare, not handcuffs and budget cuts. #HousingNotHandcuffs Our statement: buff.ly/JlcAsF4

DEVELOPING: We're hearing that Trump will sign Executive Orders today that will make homelessness worse. Stay tuned for updates.

"People live in RVs for the same reason that people live outside in tents — and that’s because housing in San Francisco and in California and all across the country, it’s too expensive. The solution is to ensure that everyone has housing they need and want.” @jesserbnwtz.bsky.social buff.ly/JHJnoCy

Fined. Arrested. Still nowhere to live. A new documentary by @invisiblepeople.tv spotlights how all across the US, elected officials are making homelessness worse by wasting lives and taxpayer dollars on failed policies. We need housing and support, not handcuffs. buff.ly/sGLK3Yl

We are deeply saddened to share the passing of Diane Doherty, the first board chair of the Law Center and a vital supporter in our organization’s establishment. Diane was a fierce & fearless leader, advocating tirelessly for anti-poverty and anti-hunger initiatives throughout the US. bit.ly/44SHfF7

NEW: Houston has made it illegal to sit or lie down on a sidewalk at any time. This is a 24/7 ban on trying to survive in public. It's not camping ban; it's a pure homeless ban. We will never arrest our way out of homelessness. buff.ly/nH2VUqt

One year ago today, the Supreme Court ruled that people can be arrested and ticketed for experiencing homelessness. Since then, 320+ bills that make it a crime to be homeless have been introduced. These bills only make homelessness worse. Full report:

TAKE ACTION: Demand Congress pass #HousingNotHandcuffs! Today, Rep. Jayapal and Rep. Frost introduced the Housing Not Handcuffs Act to help solve homelessness with housing, not arrests or tickets. Demand your reps support the fight for housing: bit.ly/passhnh

HAPPENING NOW: The Housing Not Handcuffs Act is being introduced by Reps. Jayapal and Frost! Tune into the live press conference where we're demanding real solutions to homelessness: housing and support, not arrests or tickets. www.youtube.com/live/VRaE-9J...