U.S. Attorney's Office Unfair in Grouping Homeless with Security Suspects

Press Type: Press Release   Associated Program: Civil Rights

Released: 08/2005

Today's warning from the U.S. Attorney's office unfairly singles out homeless people, adding to a disturbing trend. Based on a reported State Department advisory last week to police, fire, and emergency medical personnel, officials were warned to be on the look out for "vagrants." "Given the myriad ways that terrorists may choose to disguise themselves, it is disturbing that such warnings are focusing on homeless people," said Maria Foscarinis, Executive Director of the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty. The message adds significantly to the negative impact of heightened security measures on homeless people by explicitly singling them out. This growing impact includes recently the increased identification requirements called for by the new federal REAL ID Act will create barriers be very difficult for homeless people -- who often lack or have lost needed documents such as birth certificates or utility bills to meet. Without IDs, homeless people will not be able to obtain legal employment and may not be able to obtain shelter or other needed assistance. Explicitly singling homeless people out, as the warning does, exacerbates the discriminatory attention from police and other public officials' to which they are already subject. Contrary to what the warning states, homeless people are not typically "unnoticed" by police -- they are often targeted by police for otherwise innocent conduct necessitated by their status. In recent years, cities across the country have enacted and stepped up enforcement of laws that impose criminal punishment for conduct homeless people typically are forced to engage in because of their circumstances, such as sitting, sleeping and begging in public. "Official statements that treat homeless people as suspect because of their status contribute to the public perception that homeless people unworthy of full human rights and dignity," Foscarinis added. "Rather than penalize and stigmatize homeless people, we should work to put solutions in place that address the causes of homelessness."

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