() An Idaho Army National Guard officer is sharing his story about once being a homeless youth as President Trump deploys hundreds of volunteer soldiers to help clear Washington, D.C., of crime and encampments.
Maj. Adam Rios said he doesn’t know the details of Trump’s plan. But he told “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” on Wednesday that the complex problem of homelessness doesn’t necessarily end after unhoused people are moved from city centers.
“It’s not that you can’t clear the streets. It was demonstrated in California, with [Gov.] Gavin Newsom, that the streets can be cleaned quickly,” Rios said. “But the problem, I think, is ideological. It has to do with a lot of sense of safety … and to be able to target exactly what you’re trying to target. How do you distinguish between the homeless and those that are behaving badly, those who are criminal?”
Rios has said he found himself living on the streets at a young age in Utica, New York, after his divorced father became addicted to drugs. He has credited his foster family with getting him on a better path before his future was solidified by enlisting in the Army National Guard in Idaho.
“There’s a lot of opportunities to smack your face into lots of things and learn a lot of hard lessons and discipline yourself, as well,” he said. “It was really good to be presented with some merit- and performance-based objectives and goals and really just be held to those standards and made accountable for them.”
Trump pledges to dismantle homeless encampments in DC
Trump this week announced he was deploying hundreds of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., as part of a plan to take over the nation’s capital and make it safer. He has said homeless people will be removed from encampments and given the option of staying at a shelter or receiving treatment. The president has said he’ll try to extend his 30-day takeover of D.C., possibly through legislative means.
Rios said he understands the National Guard would be serving a supporting role to law enforcement in the capital. He said he hopes soldiers receive clear directives on what they are meant to accomplish.
