After Eviction

Last May, California governor Gavin Newsom called on local governments across the state to bar tent encampments on public land, offering a model ordinance that would allow cities and counties to “resolve” encampments “with urgency and with humanity.” This push came a year after a U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding a local law in Grants Pass, Oregon, that barred camping on public land, which effectively criminalizes homelessness. Numerous mainstream Democratic leaders supported the move, arguing that they needed camping bans to keep public spaces safe and to better serve homeless people who refuse services like shelter beds. In the year and a half since the Supreme Court decision, cities in red states and blue states alike have cracked down on encampments, falling into alignment with the Trump administration’s call to “get tough” on homelessness