Cities have long used vagrancy, loitering and camping laws against unhoused people. In City of Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024), the Supreme Court ruled 6 to 3 that punishing people for sleeping outside does not violate the Eighth Amendment's ban on cruel and unusual punishment, even when no shelter beds are available. Many cities have since passed or expanded camping bans.
Tickets, arrests and encampment sweeps can destroy identity documents, medications and belongings. Fines and criminal records make it harder to get housing and jobs.
Homelessness reflects racism in housing. On a single night in January 2024, HUD counted 771,480 people experiencing homelessness, the highest on record. Black people were 12 percent of the US population but 32 percent of people experiencing homelessness. Housing First programs, which provide housing without preconditions, have stronger evidence than enforcement.