Trump Wants to Send Homeless People “Far Away” From Washington

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement to increase the presence of federal agents in the nation’s capital, a new directive has been issued: to send homeless individuals very far away and immediately.

On Monday morning, Trump is scheduled to hold a press conference in which he is expected to address his plans, focusing on what he described as the cleanup, the general physical renewal, and the condition of our once beautiful and well-maintained capital.

On the eve of the announcement, the president posted a series of messages on his Truth Social account calling for the removal of homeless people from public view.

The homeless have to move IMMEDIATELY. We will provide housing, but FAR from the capital. Criminals do not have to move. We are going to put them in jail, where they belong, he emphasized.

Regarding the city’s mayor, Muriel Bowser, Trump said she is a good person who has tried, but she has had many opportunities, and crime figures are getting worse.

The Republican administration began reinforcing the presence of federal law enforcement last Friday, citing as justification the alleged assault on a former member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), who was the target of an attempted car theft.

Stating that crime in the capital is totally out of control, Trump suggested a federal takeover of Washington if the city’s local government does not get organized, and quickly.

The idea of federalizing Washington is not new for Trump. The president may not have full authority to do so unless Congress repeals a 1973 law granting residents the right to elect their own mayor and city council.

Despite Trump’s claims, local police data indicate that violent crime in Washington, D.C., has declined over the past year and a half, reaching in 2024 its lowest level in three decades, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Meanwhile, approximately 5,138 people are homeless in D.C., a nine percent year-over-year decrease, according to a report from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.

In July, Trump signed an executive order directing the DOJ to reverse judicial precedents and end consent decrees that limit the ability of state and local governments to institutionalize homeless individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others.

He also ordered federal agencies to prioritize grants to cities that enforce prohibitions on the open use of illegal drugs, urban camping, and loitering, a measure criticized by the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty.