Advocates Launch “No Federal Funding for Homeless Detention Camps” Campaign

Washington, DC—Today, the National Homelessness Law Center will launch a new campaign to say, “No Federal Funding for Homeless Detention Camps.” This launch, which comes amidst a surge in Trump-backed anti-homeless policies around the country, will accompany a Congressional letter demanding that HUD reject any funding requests for ineffective, inhumane homeless detention camps.

Currently, the Governor of Utah is ramping up efforts to divert housing funds towards building a massive, remote detention camp for homeless people in his state, with more than half of the proposed 1,300-bed facility designated for forced treatment. Notably, the Cicero Institute, a right-wing think tank founded by former Palantir CEO and billionaire Joe Lonsdale, is lobbying in support of Utah’s plan. The camp will not only come at a steep cost to Utah residents; it will also rely on millions in federal funding to build and operate.

Advocates from around the country are coming together to demand the federal government fund real solutions to homelessness, like housing and support, and reject the use of arrests, tickets, or jails for people who cannot afford rent – not in Utah and not anywhere.

In coordination with this launch, Members of Congress, led by Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL), will send a letter to HUD Secretary Scott Turner urging the agency to reject any requests to utilize federal funding to pay for homeless detention camps.

The campaign will be launched on a mass organizing call on Zoom.

Media are welcome to attend this call on January 29th from 4:30 to 6 PM EST.
RSVP HERE.

Speakers include:

• Representative Maxwell Frost (D-FL)
• Representative Delia Ramirez (D-IL)
• Utah House Minority Leader Angela Romero
• Eleanor Menlove, Director of Policy at the ACLU of Utah
• Nate Crippes, Public Affairs Supervising Attorney at the Disability Law Center of Utah
• Evan Done, Advocacy and Public Policy Director at Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness

Jesse Rabinowitz, Director of Campaigns and Communications at the National Homelessness Law Center

“Utah’s plan to confine people who cannot afford rent in a government-run homeless detention camp demands national attention. Targeting people simply because they are poor is a profound failure of public policy and a fundamental violation of human dignity. We have seen throughout history that rounding up vulnerable people and placing them behind locked doors has never solved a social crisis,” said Rep. Maxwell Frost. “Instead of criminalizing poverty, leaders should be investing in housing, treatment, and economic opportunity. Utah still has time to change course, and it is critical that decisionmakers reject this costly and ineffective plan before lasting harm is done.”

“Trump and all the authoritarians in the administration want our lives, our labor, and our freedom to extract every bit of profit they can from us for themselves and their billionaire bosses. Just as they knew that mandatory detention paired with Trump’s mass deportation campaign would be good for business, they know that detention camps for unhoused neighbors will also be a lucrative venture," said Rep. Delia Ramirez. "Detention has always been UNSAFE, INAPPROPRIATE, INADEQUATE. We must not continue to fund our death and destruction. I am proud to join the National Homelessness Law Center to demand an end to the detention and punishment of our unhoused neighbors. Together, let’s fight for every single thing - including HOUSING FOR ALL - our people need to thrive.”

“Everybody needs a safe place to live. Utah’s scheme to take money away from housing and support to fund a massive government-run detention camp is shameful, wasteful, and does nothing to solve homelessness,” said Jesse Rabinowitz, spokesperson for the National Homelessness Law Center. “Instead of carrying water for Trump and the billionaire-backed-Cicero Institute, Utah should focus on making rent cheaper and making sure everybody has the housing and support they need. We’ve seen this before- at no time in history has rounding up people and forcing them into a camp been a good idea, and this is no different.”

"We need to protect the constitutional rights of all individuals, regardless of their housing status. Any plans that impact our unsheltered communities must respect their civil liberties and dignity,” said Jason M. Groth, Legal Director for the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation (ACLU of Utah). "Internment of people facing homelessness does neither. We urge state and municipal leaders to appreciate that this approach has consistently failed our communities, housed and unhoused alike”.

“The idea that Utah would defund proven solutions to homelessness like housing and support to create a massive government-run detention camp is just shameful,” said Evan Done, Advocacy and Public Policy Director at Utah Support Advocates for Recovery Awareness. “The rent in Utah is too high. People struggle to get access to good care and the support they need. If Governor Cox really wanted to solve homelessness, he would make rent cheaper and make care and treatment more accessible. But instead, he is parroting Trump’s anti-homeless ideology, and as a Utahn, I will not stay silent as it happens.”

“We are deeply concerned about utilizing a detention camp that segregates people with mental illness from the greater community. Forced treatment of individuals with disabilities rolls back decades of progress in behavioral health treatment,” said Nate Crippes, Public Affairs Supervising Attorney at the Disability Law Center of Utah. “Laws and legislation require Utah to provide services in the most integrated setting appropriate to the needs of individuals with disabilities. We believe housing and services for Utahns with disabilities must be integrated in neighborhoods and communities where people can access the supports they want and need. Nobody should be forced into a detention camp because they are unwell or unable to make ends meet.”