Representatives Introduce Legislation to Prohibit Homeless Detention Centers and Forced Labor

By Alayna Calabro, NLIHC Senior Policy Analyst 

Representatives Maxwell Frost (D-FL), Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL), Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), Troy Carter (D-LA), and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) introduced the “No Homeless Detention Centers Act” (H.R.10231) on September 2. The representatives held a press conference to announce the bill’s introduction. 

The NLIHC-endorsed bill would prevent federal funds from being used to force people experiencing homelessness into shelters, camps, or other detention-like facilities against their will. The bill would also prohibit federally funded facilities from forcing people to work in exchange for receiving shelter or punishing people for engaging in life-sustaining activities, like resting, sleeping, eating, or protecting themselves from the weather. 

The “No Homeless Detention Centers Act” is introduced as the Cicero Institute, a conservative think tank backed by corporate interest and wealthy donors, continues to push the federal government and states to criminalize homelessness and move people into shelters or treatment facilities, sometimes against their will. Several states—including Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, and Utah—have passed versions of these policies. Some of these proposals also include forced labor or work requirements.  

Read the press release.

Read the bill text.