National Homelessness Law Center

10/20/2026

Some of the cruelest anti-homeless laws in the country call for putting homeless people into massive detention camps and subjecting them to unpaid labor. That's why Rep Ramirez and Frost introduced the No Homeless Detention Centers Act.

“Trump and all the authoritarians in the Administration want our lives, our labor, and our freedom to extract every bit of profit they can from us for themselves and their billionaire bosses. Just as they knew that mandatory detention paired with Trump’s mass deportation campaign would be good for business, they know that detention camps for unhoused neighbors will also be a lucrative venture," said Congresswoman Ramirez.

Washington, D.C. — Today, Congresswoman Delia C.

10/19/2026

Last week we celebrated the 2026 Human Right to Housing Awards, where we honored brilliant change makers working to solve homelessness. We're so grateful to our honorees and it is a privilege to work together.

Thank you to everyone who attended and we hope to see you next year!

Justice Award: Paul Boden, WRAP
Pro Bono Award: Arnold & Porter
Stewart B. McKinney Award: Democracy Forward
State Legislator Award: State Representatives Laurie Sweet and Kadeem Roberts (CT)
Local Legislator Award: Councilmember Anna Hernandez (AZ)
Bruce F. Vento Award: U.S. Representative Mark Takano (CA)

10/19/2026

Palantir billionaire Joe Lonsdale, who has called for bringing back public executions, is using his conservative think tank, the Cicero Institute, to make homelessness a crime throughout the country. Cicero's policies call for arresting and ticketing people for experiencing homelessness, throwing them into detention camps, and subjecting them to unpaid labor.

Joe Lonsdale’s Cicero Institute contends that we can arrest our way out of the housing crisis, and that states must enforce laws ‘prohibiting open drug use, urban squatting, camping, and loitering.’

10/16/2026

GOOD NEWS: Beyoncé, Tina Knowles and Kelly Rowland have opened the Knowles-Rowland House in Houston, which will provide permanent supportive housing for people experiencing chronic homelessness. The development also provides residents with access to case management, mental health counseling, substance use treatment, life skills training and nutrition assistance.

Beyoncé, Tina Knowles and Kelly Rowland celebrate the opening of Houston’s Knowles-Rowland House, a 31-unit supportive housing development with roots in Destiny’s Child.

10/15/2026

Going to a No Kings protest this weekend? Download and bring these signs with you to help connect the dots between the rise of homelessness and the rise of fascism. The fight for democracy and the fight for housing justice are deeply intertwined. https://housingnothandcuffs.org/2026/10/14/nokingsprotest/

10/15/2026

For homeless people, ID laws go beyond voting. When cities destroy homeless communities, and throw away people’s belongings, people often lose the IDs they need to get out of homelessness and find safe and stable housing.

From Arizona to Tennessee, rules aimed at cracking down on non-citizens are hampering unhoused people’s ability to access crucial services.

10/14/2026

LIVE: The 2026 Human Right to Housing Awards!

10/14/2026

In a secret meeting at the White House, an aide to Stephen Miller laid out the plan: To make it easier for states to round up and institutionalize mentally ill homeless people, the Trump administration was pushing a drastic policy change that would weaken the rights of millions of disabled Americans.

Then the Department of Justice did just that, issuing a sweeping legal opinion that revoked decades of federal disability policy rooted in the landmark Supreme Court ruling Olmstead v. L.C.

Disabled people and their advocates were horrified. Some fear that without the federal government enforcing their right to live on their own, they will have no choice but to move into institutions. Families who want to keep their disabled relatives at home worry that they will need to quit jobs or drain savings to pick up the caregiving slack.

In a statement, a White House official denied Miller had a role in the DOJ opinion. A Justice Department spokesperson said the memo resulted from a routine request to review existing guidance and clarify the scope of the Olmstead decision.

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10/13/2026

We're thrilled to announce the recipients of the State Legislator Award: Connecticut State Representatives Laurie Sweet and Kadeem Roberts!

Representatives Sweet and Roberts are being honored for their leadership in advancing the rights of people experiencing homelessness in Connecticut. Through their advocacy and sponsorship of legislation aimed at preventing the criminalization of homelessness and strengthening protections for unhoused residents, they have helped move Connecticut closer to recognizing housing as a human right.

Representative Sweet serves as Vice Chair and Representative Roberts serves as Chair of Connecticut's first-ever End Homelessness Caucus, where they work to advance housing stability and support for residents experiencing homelessness across the state.

10/13/2026

Trump’s authoritarian approach to homelessness is also a sweeping retreat from disability rights. After making it easier to institutionalize homeless people, the DOJ started abandoning cases protecting disabled people’s right to live in their communities.

After issuing a memo making it easier to institutionalize homeless people, the Justice Department began abandoning cases protecting disabled people’s right to live in the community.