() A day after President Donald Trump deployed the National Guard to Washington, D.C., homeless people in the city are being told to get off the streets or face fines and jail time.
Trump declared a public safety emergency for D.C. on Monday and announced a federal takeover of the district’s Metropolitan Police Department for 30 days.
National Guard forces and Humvees were deployed Tuesday night near the Washington Monument on the National Mall, and approximately 800 total guard members will work in shifts of about 200, an official told .
“The Homeless have to move out, IMMEDIATELY. We will give you places to stay, but FAR from the Capital,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
‘Limited’ space for homeless people in DC
Trump’s orders have left many homeless people in the area feeling they’ll have nowhere to go.
Two advocates for homeless people told that the shelter space in D.C. is “very limited.” The city has 1,000 homeless people on the streets and only 60 shelter beds available.
“That’s gonna be a mess,” said one person living in one of the city’s homeless encampments. “Because that’s gonna be a mess, I’m telling you.
“These guys, they say we have nothing to lose. We’re all already on the street. So do whatever you wanna do. If you really care about me, then help me.”
Another person in the encampments said they are just trying to find work, even with the changing reality.
“I’m just trying to live, I’m just trying to survive. It’s been hard out here being homeless. The shelters are not always clean. It’s like you’re surviving for yourself,” they said.
Homeless people face fines, jail time
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday that homeless people will be given the option to leave their encampment, be taken to a shelter or offered addiction or mental health services.
“If they refuse, they will be susceptible to fines or to jail time,” Leavitt said. “Again, these are preexisting laws that are already on the books. They have not been enforced.”
Many homeless people said they prefer to be in their tents, which could make the troops’ takeover a lot more complicated.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser called the administration’s move “unsettling and unprecedented,” but not surprising.
