In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape

Utah’s 1,300-bed homelessness “accountability center” tests Trump-era crackdown

Planned for 16 acres on the edge of Salt Lake City, Utah’s new homelessness campus would combine mass shelter, court-ordered treatment, and “work-conditioned housing.” Supporters call it a model of reform, while advocates warn it mirrors forced labor and internment.

Don't panic over federal cuts for homeless programs

The federal cuts amount to little more than a rounding error in most state or big city budgets.

Utah Gov. Cox says homeless campus — envisioned to fulfill Trump’s order — is a ‘top priority’

The site of a future homeless services campus at 2520 N. 2200 West in Salt Lake City is pictured with I-215 in the foreground on Wednesday, Sept. 3, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)As Utah has garnered national attention for Republican state leaders’ eagerness to fulfill President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Ending Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets,” Gov. Spencer Cox says their vision for a yet-to-be built 1…

In Utah, Trump’s vision for homelessness begins to take shape

To glimpse the future of homelessness policy in the age of President Donald Trump, consider 16 acres of scrubby pasture on the outskirts of Salt Lake City where the state plans to place as many as 1,300 homeless people in what supporters call a services campus and critics deem a detention camp.

Utah approves internment camps for homeless people

The US state of Utah has this week approved a “mega camp” to hold 1,300 homeless people – in isolation, seven miles from the nearest town and with no transport links. The camp will consist of locked units and inmates can be subjected to forced labour. Utah is calling this dystopia “work-conditioned housing” – but in reality, as the US National Homelessness Law Center (NHLC) has commented, it is “modern-day internment” for the poor and homeless. …

In Utah, Trump’s Vision for Homelessness Begins to Take Shape

From The New York Times. “To glimpse the future of homelessness policy in the age of President Trump, consider 16 acres of scrubby pasture on the outskirts of Salt Lake City where the state plans to place as many as 1,300 homeless people in what supporters call a services campus and critics deem a detention camp. State planners say the site, announced last month after a secretive search, will treat addiction and mental illness and provide a huma…