5:04A general view of a homeless encampment outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., U.S., Aug. 11, 2025.Ken Cedeno/Reuters
This week, President Donald Trump pledged to eliminate homeless encampments in Washington, D.C., asserting that the "homeless must vacate, IMMEDIATELY." However, the specifics of how this will be carried out, including potential relocation sites, remain ambiguous, raising concerns among advocacy organizations.
While teasing an announcement about D.C., Trump communicated via social media on Sunday to those experiencing homelessness, "We will provide you with places to stay, but FAR from the Capital."
In his statements the next day, Trump declared that the federal government will be "removing homeless encampments from all our parks" in D.C. as part of an initiative to "save our nation’s capital from crime, bloodshed, chaos, squalor, and worse."
"There are numerous locations they can relocate to, and we’re committed to assisting them as much as possible. However, they will not be permitted to transform our capital into a wasteland for the world to witness," Trump stated during a press briefing on Monday while revealing plans for the federal government to take control of the D.C. police department and deploy National Guard troops in the area.
A general view of a homeless encampment outside the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C., U.S., Aug. 11, 2025.Ken Cedeno/Reuters
The dismantling of homeless encampments is not a novel approach in D.C., whether under the Trump administration or the local government, Dana White, advocacy director for Miriam’s Kitchen, a nonprofit dedicated to ending chronic homelessness in D.C., informed ABC News.
"What is particularly alarming is the ambiguous language regarding their complete removal from the district, without any specifics on where they would be relocated, who would handle their transportation, how it would be financed, and what implications this has for their human and civil rights," White remarked about Trump’s recent statements.
Donald Whitehead Jr., executive director of the D.C.-based National Coalition for the Homeless, noted that although Trump referenced homelessness multiple times during Monday’s press conference, there was "no concrete information on how to tackle the issue," such as the resources that would be put in place to address it in a non-punitive way, or where individuals would be relocated.
"Our concern is, is this the same strategy we’ve seen with the immigrant population? Are individuals just going to be transported to distant locations?" he questioned.
"Honestly, for a homeless advocate, it was a conference that lacked information," Whitehead stated. "It suggests that it was more of a publicity stunt than a genuine discussion about solutions to homelessness."
President Donald Trump speaks with reporters in the James Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House, Aug. 11, 2025, in Washington.Alex Brandon/AP
The two executive orders issued on Monday, which were the focus of Trump’s press briefing, did not explicitly refer to homelessness.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser informed reporters on Monday that her office has not received any additional details from the White House but will be reaching out to Attorney General Pam Bondi.
"We really haven’t received any further details regarding the plan or the statements he made," she commented during a press briefing on Monday afternoon when asked about Trump’s remarks concerning homelessness. "It wasn’t mentioned in the executive order that was issued."
"I believe he had a prior executive order that also identified Attorney General Bondi as a contact point regarding homelessness and similar matters, so we’ll follow up with her," Bowser added.
Sourse: abcnews.go.com
