Under the authority granted to me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, I hereby issue the following directive:
Section 1. Purpose and Policy
Our cities have become battlegrounds of vagrancy, disorder, and violence, posing grave threats to public safety. The last year of the previous administration saw an unprecedented 274,224 individuals living on the streets, a record high. Most of these individuals grapple with substance addiction, mental health challenges, or both. A staggering two-thirds have reported lifetime use of hard drugs such as methamphetamines, cocaine, or opioids, while a similar proportion struggle with mental health conditions. Despite the Federal Government and States pouring tens of billions into ineffective homelessness programs, the underlying issues remain unaddressed, leaving citizens vulnerable to safety hazards.
To restore public order, we must consider relocating homeless individuals into long-term institutional settings where they can receive humane treatment through civil commitment. Allowing our cities to succumb to chaos is neither a compassionate solution for the homeless nor for the general public. My Administration will adopt a new strategy centered on safeguarding public safety.
Sec. 2. Restoring Civil Commitment
(a) The Attorney General, in collaboration with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall take necessary actions to:
(i) Reverse Federal or State judicial precedents and terminate consent decrees that hinder our policy of civil commitment for individuals with mental illnesses who pose risks to themselves or others, or who are unable to care for themselves on the streets;
(ii) Provide support to State and local governments via technical guidance, grants, or other legally permissible means for the identification, adoption, and implementation of flexible civil commitment and treatment standards aimed at individuals with mental illness who present dangers to themselves or others.
Sec. 3. Fighting Vagrancy on America’s Streets
(a) The Attorney General, along with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation, shall promptly evaluate discretionary grant programs to determine if priority can be given to States and municipalities that actively meet the following criteria:
(i) Enforce laws against open illicit drug use;
(ii) Enforce bans on urban camping and loitering;
(iii) Enforce prohibitions on urban squatting;
(iv) Implement standards addressing individuals who are a danger to themselves or others, or who cannot care for themselves, through assisted outpatient treatment or civil commitment to appropriate facilities;
(v) Ensure compliance with the registration and notification requirements of the Sex Offender Registry and Notification Act, particularly regarding registered sex offenders without fixed addresses.
(b) The Attorney General shall:
(i) Ensure that homeless individuals arrested for Federal crimes are assessed under 18 U.S.C. 4248 to determine if they are sexually dangerous and may require civil commitment;
(ii) Secure funds under the Emergency Federal Law Enforcement Assistance program for encampment removal in areas where public safety is compromised and State or local resources are insufficient;
(iii) Evaluate Federal resources to ensure that individuals with serious mental illness are not released into the community due to inadequate facilities;
(iv) Strengthen requirements for prisons and reentry centers to establish housing release plans for inmates and ensure compliance where feasible.
Sec. 4. Redirecting Federal Resources Toward Effective Methods of Addressing Homelessness
(a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services shall take appropriate actions to:
(i) Ensure that discretionary grants from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration fund effective programs, avoiding “harm reduction” strategies that merely enable drug use;
(ii) Provide technical assistance to outpatient treatment programs focused on transitioning individuals with serious mental illness or addiction into private housing and support networks;
(iii) Ensure that Federal funds for health centers and behavioral health clinics actively reduce homelessness by supporting comprehensive services for individuals with mental health and substance use disorders.
(b) The Attorney General shall prioritize funding to expand drug courts and mental health courts for individuals whose diversion enhances public safety.
Sec. 5. Increasing Accountability and Safety in America’s Homelessness Programs
(a) The Secretary of Health and Human Services and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall implement measures to enhance accountability in homelessness assistance programs. These measures shall include, where legally permissible, discontinuing “housing first” policies that lack accountability and fail to encourage recovery and self-sufficiency; fostering competition among grantees; and holding them to higher standards in reducing homelessness and enhancing public safety.
(b) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall, as necessary, require recipients of Federal housing assistance to ensure that participants with substance use disorders or serious mental illness engage with treatment services as a condition of participation.
(c) For recipients operating drug injection or “safe consumption” sites, the Attorney General shall investigate compliance with Federal law, and the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development shall review program compliance and potentially freeze assistance where violations occur.
(d) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development will revise regulations to allow, where permissible, federally funded programs to exclusively house women and children, and prevent sex offenders from being housed with unrelated minors.
(e) The Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of Health and Human Services, shall, as permitted by law:
(i) Allow or require recipients of Federal funding to collect necessary health-related data from all individuals receiving assistance;
(ii) Mandate sharing of such data with law enforcement, where legally permissible, to ensure appropriate medical care and connections to public health resources.
Sec. 6. General Provisions
(a) Nothing in this order shall be interpreted to limit the authority of any executive department or agency, or the head thereof;
(b) This order shall be executed in accordance with applicable law and subject to available appropriations;
(c) This order does not create any enforceable rights or benefits against the United States or its entities;
(d) The cost of publishing this order will be covered by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
DONALD J. TRUMP
THE WHITE HOUSE,
July 24, 2025.
