20+ states have introduced anti-homeless laws. Here’s how we’re fighting back.
(WASHINGTON, D.C. – April 1st, 2026)
Hello Housing Not Handcuffs supporters,
For years, politicians across the country have been pushing laws that punish people who have no choice but to sleep outside. Right now, 22 states across the country are considering (or have recently considered) new anti-homeless laws. This isn’t a coincidence. This surge of bills we’re seeing in state after state is part of a coordinated national campaign driven by right-wing, billionaire-backed groups like the Cicero Institute, a think tank funded by Palantir’s billionaire co-founder. Their goal is simple and extreme: push states—and now the federal government—to pass laws that punish people experiencing homelessness, while at the same time cutting the very housing and support that solves homelessness.
With 2026 state legislative sessions underway, here’s what we’re tracking:
- In Georgia and Oklahoma, lawmakers are moving template bills from the Goldwater Institute that will let residents sue their cities if they believe their property value dropped because anti-homeless laws weren’t enforced aggressively enough. That means taxpayer dollars would be spent on pointless lawsuits instead of real solutions to homelessness.
- Hawaii, Iowa, North Carolina, and Wisconsin all moved Cicero-style bills to create “drug-free homeless services zones.” These bills create a two-tiered justice system, punishing people differently for the same crime depending only on whether they sleep outside. In some cases, they even punish the people who provide needed services like food, care, and shelter, making it even more difficult for people to access the support they need.
- Indiana sadly passed a Cicero template bill after four hard-fought battles to successfully defeat it last session. While advocates made amendments to mitigate some of the bill’s harshest impacts, this shows us that, even when Cicero’s bills are deeply unpopular, their billions can buy power and influence.
- Louisiana introduced a bill that allows courts to order homeless people to work without pay in a forced treatment program. We know that no one should have to work for free in order to meet their basic needs.
- And Tennessee introduced legislation allowing deadly force to prevent someone from trespassing on their land, which advocates expect to disproportionately be used to target homeless people.
These escalations are chilling. We’re seeing people in power stopping at nothing to dehumanize, marginalize, and attack people experiencing homelessness. And their influence goes up to the highest level: the billionaires from the Cicero Institute and their peers are shaping the Trump administration’s anti-homeless agenda nationwide.
But here’s the other side of the story: advocates are fighting back. They are organizing broad coalitions and mobilizing advocates to say that housing and support, not punishment and detention, is what can solve homelessness. Here’s what we’ve seen recently:
- Iowa defeated its drug-free homeless service zone bill for the second year in a row.
- Wisconsin stopped six anti-homeless bills this session, including one vetoed by their Governor just last week.
- Oregon blocked an effort to roll back their state’s restrictions on local anti-homeless laws.
And we’re not just playing defense – 17 states (and counting) have introduced legislation that protects the rights of homeless people and those that serve them, with bills moving through hearings in Maryland, Connecticut, Washington, and Illinois this session. And, at the end of last year, California passed a bill stopping cities from making it a crime to provide food, water, and supportive services to homeless people.
Want to see what’s happening in your state and across the country? Check out our interactive map here.
Together, we can stop these harmful bills and demand real solutions for our communities.
Thank you for standing with us,
The Housing Not Handcuffs Campaign of The National Homelessness Law Center
P.S. There is more good news! The Law Center, Democracy Forward, local counsel, and local and state governments across the country successfully blocked HUD’s unlawful attempt to evict 170,000 formerly homeless people from their stable housing and impose awful conditions on homeless service providers trying to get government funding. Just weeks ago, the Supreme Court left in place a ruling that protects the rights of homeless people to ask for help from their neighbors. And thanks to strong partnerships, we have been shedding light on Project Safe Harbor at the Department of Veterans Affairs, a disturbing effort to strip homeless veterans of their rights to make decisions over their own lives. We’re motivated to keep fighting – and winning – not just in state legislatures, but in courts and in Congress, too.
