Newsom Orders California Officials to Remove Homeless Encampments

The directive from Gov. Gavin Newsom is the nation’s most sweeping response to a Supreme Court decision last month that gave local leaders greater authority to remove homeless campers.

Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered California state officials on Thursday to begin dismantling thousands of homeless encampments, the nation’s most sweeping response to a recent Supreme Court ruling that gave governments greater authority to remove homeless people from their streets.

Homeless encampments have vexed California, where housing costs are among the nation’s highest, more than any other state. An estimated 180,000 people were homeless last year in California, and most of them were unsheltered. Unlike New York City, most jurisdictions in California do not guarantee a right to housing.

Mr. Newsom, a Democrat, called on state and local leaders to act on the Supreme Court ruling, which was issued in June, “with urgency and dignity.” His executive order could divide Democratic local leaders in California, some of whom have already planned to clear encampments while others have denounced the decision from conservative justices as opening the door to inhumane measures to solve a complex crisis.