Criminalization of Poverty Marks a Point of No Return for America

or How a Bloated Supergiant Became a Black Hole

On July 24, the Trump White House released an executive order (read it for yourself here) outlining its plan to “bring peace to our cities” by addressing homelessness, addiction, and mental illness.

That sounds great. Heck, I love peace!

Read between the lines—you barely have to—and the truth is plain: this order is a blueprint for mass internment, a rollback of decades of civil rights protections, and a chilling front-row-seat to our latest lesson about how authoritarian regimes consolidate power.

It is now functionally illegal to be poor or vulnerable in America. You can literally lose your liberty.

"I'm shocked!" said literally no one who ever did any homework.

Look at all these strong men! I feel safer already!

Devil in the Details

• Mentally ill, addicted, and unhoused people are now officially defined as a threat to national security. Consider how often MAGA calls the president's critics “mentally ill” online. Trump Derangement Syndrome?

  
  

• People without housing may be civilly committed. That means: detained without being charged with a crime.

  
  

• Federal funding will now prioritize cities that crack down on visible poverty. So desirables don't have to feel guilty or uncomfy.

  
  

• HUD data, including sensitive health records, can be shared with law enforcement. No warrants. No transparency.

  
  

• Programs that prioritize human dignity—including LGBTQ+ protections—will lose funding.

  The order makes space for federally backed shelters that exclude trans people under the banner of “women and children only.”

  
  

• A section on sex offenders is thrown in for fearmongering. Wait, we hold sex offenders accountable now? Just kidding I'm sure their pardons are forthcoming.

  
  

• The federal government is actively encouraging states to overturn legal protections won in court for unhoused and disabled people. Meanwhile, programs that treat poverty with dignity are being gutted to fund this crackdown.

This president sucks so bad, it will soon be impossible to escape his destructive pull.

Power & Destruction

We are beyond policy debates. This is not about left or right. It's not even about freedom anymore. That line has been crossed.

Donald Trump has become a black hole, amassing so much power that his regime is consuming our lives.

The pattern isn’t new, and it's not American liberty. It’s the exact playbook of every regime ever that sacrificed people for power.

Be careful out there, kids. Gravity just got heavier.

Sources & Further Reading

1. Executive Order on “Addressing Homelessness, Addiction, and Mental Illness” White House Archives, Trump Administration (July 24, 2020) https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/07/ending-crime-and-disorder-on-americas-streets/

   
   

2. Legal Analysis of Civil Commitment Trends Treatment Advocacy Center. “The Shortage of Public Psychiatric Beds for Mentally Ill Persons.” https://www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org

   
   

3. HUD Data Privacy & Enforcement Policy U.S. Department of Housing and Urban

   Development (HUD) https://www.hud.gov

   
   

4. Homelessness and Civil Liberties National Homelessness Law Center https://homelesslaw.org

   
   

5. “Trump and the Politicization of Mental Illness” Psychology Today, March 2019 https://www.psychologytoday.com

   
   

6. Fascism: A Warning – Madeleine Albright (2018) Available at libraries, bookstores, and audiobook platforms (Audible, Libro.fm)

   
   

7. How Authoritarian Regimes Use ‘Law and Order’ Language Brennan Center for Justice https://www.brennancenter.org

   
   

8. History of Fascist Regimes and Tactics United States Holocaust Memorial Museum https://encyclopedia.ushmm.org

   
   

9. Use of “Mentally Ill” as Political Insult NPR: “Trump Often Labels His Critics as ‘Crazy.’ Experts Say That’s Dangerous.” https://www.npr.org