US students forced to deal with the reality of homelessness
Homelessness is on the rise in the United States, with students under 18 becoming the fastest growing demographic.
Former President Barack Obama spoke about homelessness in a new interview, urging Democratic lawmakers to change their approach to the issue and saying many Americans don’t want to “walk around in tent cities” in major cities.
In an interview with progressive podcaster Brian Tyler Cohen published on February 14, President Obama said, “It’s a moral and ethical atrocity to have people just on the streets in wealthy countries, and we should advocate for policies that recognize their full humanity.”
President Obama was talking about immigration enforcement even before commenting on homelessness, and progressives and moderate Democrats claimed to be discussing the two crises online as well.
“I think sometimes what happens in online discussions is that if someone suggests that we have to crack down on immigration, someone will point at that child and say, ‘So you don’t care about that child, so you must be a bad person,'” he said. “The same thing would be true here in Los Angeles with regard to homelessness.”
President Obama said Democrats need to realize that “the average person doesn’t want to be walking around in tent cities,” and that unless Democrats have a real majority, they won’t be able to muster enough support to tackle this issue.
“That doesn’t mean we care less about those people,” the former president said, referring to people experiencing homelessness. “That means if we really care about them, we have to think about how we can get majority support to realistically get through this moment and build on that victory.”
Homelessness is on the rise in many areas of the United States. In 2024, the most recent year of data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, more people experienced homelessness than in any year since data collection began in 2007. The department’s point-in-time study found an 18% increase in homelessness from 2023 to 2024, with a total of 771,480 people experiencing homelessness.
The issue has become a lightning rod not only among moderate and progressive Democrats, but also among Republicans. President Donald Trump has repeatedly attempted to crack down on people experiencing homelessness in the nation’s capital and across the country.
In July 2025, he signed an order asking Attorney General Pam Bondi to overturn federal and state precedent that limits authorities’ ability to move homeless people from the streets and encampments to treatment centers. Critics immediately expressed concern that the initiative would only make the problem worse.
President Trump’s move comes after the Supreme Court ruled in June 2025 that homeless people can be arrested and fined if they sleep in public, overturning lower court rulings that enforced camping bans when shelters are in short supply are cruel and unusual punishments.
A month later, when the federal government took control of law enforcement in Washington, resulting in widespread homeless encampments, President Trump rejected his long-standing “housing first” approach to fighting homelessness.
“We are going to make our capital safer and more beautiful than ever before,” President Trump shared in a post on Truth Social. “Homeless people must leave immediately. We will provide you with a place to stay, but it will be far from the capital.”
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
