National Homelessness Law Center

06/18/2026

What is the Cicero Institute, and why do they care about homelessness?

The Cicero Institute is a right-wing think tank backed by billionaires who profit from the prison system and surveillance tech industry—and they are targeting homeless people.

Joe Lonsdale, techbro billionaire and Palantir cofounder, created Cicero to push laws all across the country that make it a crime to be homeless. They have influenced lawmakers from local governments all the way to the white house. Our recent report details the connections between Cicero, the prison system and surveillance tech, as well as military defense spending.

The Cicero Institute is profiting off the suffering and punishment of our homeless neighbors. In early June, they held their first “conference on homelessness,” during which they advocated for more arrests of homeless people, detention camps, forced treatment and forced labor. We showed up to advocate for HOUSING, NOT HANDCUFFS.

06/16/2026

BREAKING: Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry has signed one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country into law. HB 211 will make it a crime to sleep outside in Louisiana, punishing homeless people with extreme fines and jail, while also setting the stage for forced treatment and even forced labor.

This bill did not come out of nowhere. Across the country, we’re seeing a coordinated effort – led by the Palantir-funded, billionaire-backed Cicero Institute and taken up by the Trump administration – to arrest and jail people simply because they can’t afford the rent. Cicero has praised and supported this horrific version of its copy-paste legislation, and Gov. Landry, a supporter of the president, has cited Trump’s anti-homeless policies to justify his support for this bill.

While billionaires and right-wing politicians were clearly against us, our side spoke up strongly to advocate for housing, not handcuffs. Over 700 people in Louisiana contacted their representatives urging them to oppose this bill, and dozens showed up to committee hearings to voice their outrage at this ineffective and cruel bill. Our powerful advocacy changed the landscape: we turned this bill’s success from a foregone conclusion into a controversial fight – because most people know that forcing someone to work without pay just because they are homeless is far too extreme.

Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed one of the cruelest anti-homeless bills in the country into law. HB 211 will make it a crime to sleep outside in Louisiana, punishing homeless people with extreme fines and jail, while also setting the stage for forced treatment and even forced labor.

06/11/2026

Last week, we turned up the heat on the Cicero Institute. Together, we confronted the billionaire-backed think tank at the center of the federal efforts to defund affordable housing and the nationwide increase in laws that make it a crime to be homeless.

Last week, we turned up the heat on the Cicero Institute! Together, we confronted the billionaire-backed think tank at the center of the federal efforts to defund affordable housing and the nationwide increase in laws that make it a crime to be homeless.

06/11/2026

Jolie’s story highlights an important truth: millions of Americans are just one missed paycheck away from losing their home.

Jolie initially went to a recent Grants Pass city council meeting to speak out against a bill that would make the city’s approach to homelessness less democratic. After hearing the council’s dehumanizing remarks about homeless people, she decided to share her own story of experiencing homelessness.

Grants Pass, OR has long been a site of struggle for homeless rights. In 2024, the Supreme Court took up the case of Johnson v. Grants Pass, the most important case about homelessness in decades. SCOTUS ultimately ruled in favor of Grants Pass—allowing cities and states across the country to arrest and ticket people for sleeping outside, even if they had no where else to go.

Despite the Grants Pass ruling, cities and states still have the power to use evidenced-based solutions that actually solve homelessness: making sure everyone has the housing and services they need to thrive.

06/10/2026

WATCH: What happens when you crash a right-wing think tank's conference on criminalizing homelessness? Billionaire bootlickers get uniquely triggered when things don't go their way...you also get to hear beautiful speeches from your neighbors working to fight for evidenced-based solutions to homelessness." .bsky.social

Brittany Page discusses her recent participation in an event to dis...

06/08/2026

Last week, housing advocates from all over the country came out to protest the Cicero Institute’s conference on homelessness—where Cicero advocated for arresting homeless people, and subjecting them to forced labor, forced treatment, and detention camps. Meanwhile, we advocated for housing, not handcuffs.

Lindsey Krinks of spoke about how Cicero has harmed communities in Tennessee. In 2022, Cicero helped pass an anti-homeless law in TN that would make sleeping outside a felony, which is punishable by up to six years in prison, a $3000 fine, and a loss of voting rights.

Cicero’s policies are not only cruel and unjust—they don’t help people. They do not solve homelessness, but they trap people further into the cycle of poverty. We know what actually solves homelessness—it’s housing and support, not putting people in cages.

Follow to stay informed about the fight to solve homelessness in Tennessee.

06/08/2026

Last week, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale's think tank held a conference on homelessness, advocating for more arrests of homeless people and subjecting them to forced labor, forced treatment, and detention camps. Our recent report found that, coincidentally, Lonsdale has deep financial ties to industries that profit from the criminalization of homelessness.

On June 5 right-wing think tank the Cicero Institute held its first-ever homelessness policy summit, a Washington, DC, event promoting ...

06/05/2026

Today we disrupted the Cicero Institute's first ever conference on homelessness.

The Cicero Institute is a right-wing think tank created by tech bro billionaire and Trump advisor, Joe Lonsdale. They advocate for arresting homeless people and subjecting them to forced labor, forced treatment, and detention camps. The kinds of policies they promote have directly led to the jailing, harassment, and even death of homeless people.

We made sure they heard us. The only real solution to homelessness is HOUSING NOT HANDCUFFS. And we'll continue to call out the harm they've been causing our communities across the country. Stay tuned.

The livestream can be found on our YouTube, .
Photos: Joy Asico-Smith/AP Content Services for Housing Not Handcuffs
Kairos Center
Voices Of Community Activists & Leaders (VOCAL-NY)
VOCAL-Kentucky
VOCAL Texas
Table Nashville
The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
Miriam's Kitchen
People's Action
National Coalition for the Homeless
Drug Policy Alliance

06/05/2026

We are protesting the Cicero Institute's first ever conference on homelessness. Cicero is a right-wing think tank created by tech billionaire and Trump advisor, Joe Lonsdale. Cicero advocates for arresting homeless people and subjecting them to forced labor, forced treatment, and detention camps. We advocate for HOUSING NOT HANDCUFFS.

06/03/2026

🚨NEW REPORT🚨 Research has found that the Cicero Institute, a right-wing think tank pushing anti-homeless laws, has deep connections to the prison and surveillance industries, and may stand to profit from the anti-homeless laws they advocate for.

For years, the Cicero Institute’s anti-homeless laws have hurt our neighbors living outside and made homelessness worse. It is deeply troubling that Cicero founder, and Palantir co-founder, Joe Lonsdale and his billionaire friends are in a position to profit from these laws and the lives of the far too many people in America who have no choice but to sleep outside.

Cicero designs and pushes cruel anti-homeless laws, advocating for forced labor, forced treatment, and detention camps. These kinds of policies have directly led to the harassment, jailing, and even death of homeless people.

Not only does Cicero push anti-homeless laws, they also advocate for taking money away from proven housing solutions - leading to even more people falling into homelessness, and further lining the pockets of people connected to the prison and surveillance tech industries.

We know what actually solves homelessness: we need housing, not handcuffs.

Are the Cicero Institute’s backers profiting from the anti-homeless laws they advocate for? Findings raise questions about venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale’s profit motives behind his Trump-advising Cicero Institute.