The national population of homeless people has increased significantly during the tenure of President Joe Biden, highlighting the wider debate over homelessness in cities largely controlled by the Democratic Party as well as efforts to aid millions of migrants who have crossed the border in the last two and a half years.
According to a recent study released by the Wall Street Journal, the United States currently has almost 600,000 homeless people. This represents an increase of more than 50,000, or 11% over 2022.
The newspaper describes the current situation as “by far the biggest recorded increase since the government started tracking comparable numbers in 2007. The next highest increase was a 2.7% jump in 2019, excluding an artificially high increase last year caused by pandemic counting interruptions.”
The total number also includes about 150,000 chronically homeless.
Several cities dominated by the Democratic Party have seen significant homelessness. Portland, one of the worst-affected cities, recently banned outdoor daytime camping. However, the prohibition so far has had little effect.
California currently leads the nation in the number of homeless. Despite representing about 13% of the nation’s population, the Golden State currently has about one-third of the nation’s homeless.
San Francisco alone currently has nearly 8,000 homeless, with more than half living on the streets.
Los Angeles County also has more than 75,000 homeless, including more than 40,000 living on the streets.
The city has seen an increase in the same population by more than 10% over the last year and more than 100% in the last decade. Los Angeles is currently home to a number of homeless encampments, including tent cities.
Westside residents protesting plan to build interim housing facility for homeless in their neighborhood https://t.co/kvl0e8wy4g
— ABC7 Eyewitness News (@ABC7) August 14, 2023
The United States and a number of individual cities and states have struggled to handle the significant wave of migrants who have crossed the southern border since Biden became president in 2021. The flow increased since the president announced that he would end the Title 42 asylum policy instituted by former President Donald Trump.
The Biden administration is currently seeking more than $750 million for “community-based residential facilities” in relation to the current migration situation.
