Testimony of Joshua M. Drumming, Policy and Advocacy Attorney, Brittany K. Ruffin, Legal Director,
Systemic Advocacy and Litigation, and Charisse Lue, Policy and Advocacy Attorney, The Washington
Legal Clinic for the Homeless
October 29, 2025
Since 1987, the Legal Clinic has worked towards a just and inclusive community for all residents
of the District of Columbia–where housing is a human right and where every individual and family have
equal access to the resources that they need to thrive.
A series of executive orders and statements issued by the federal administration this year have
caused confusion and fear for D.C. residents. Residents have become targets simply due to their race
and/or ethnicity, perceived immigration status, and unhoused status—traits that are protected under
D.C. Human Rights Act. Federal government actions have increased law enforcement presence on D.C.’s
streets and heightened the vulnerability of unhoused residents. However, D.C. government’s
cooperation with the federal government has aided and exacerbated the fear and confusion felt by its
residents.
The Bowser Administration and federal government have continued to escalate efforts to
displace unhoused community members and clear encampments, causing displacement, trauma, and a
disconnect with service providers. Encampment evictions are inhumane, dangerous, and prompted (at
least, in part) by complaints from housed residents about the presence of those who are experiencing
homeless in their neighborhoods. Many D.C. clearings are determined to be “public health and safety
risks” and executed without adequate notice, clear metrics, or transparent policies justifying the
categorization. Long before the newest federal administration, we saw an increase in the application of
these types of encampment clearings (“immediate dispositions”) that depart from D.C.’s standard
encampment clearing protocol of providing written notice in advance of a scheduled clearing. D.C.’s
standard encampment clearing notice requirement was fourteen (14) days prior to earlier this year. In
early 2026, however, D.C. suddenly changed its standard encampment clearing protocol to reduce the
notice requirement to only seven (7) days.
In March of this year, immediately following presidential statements and executive orders
referencing those experiencing homelessness, DMHHS suspiciously expedited an E Street encampment
clearing without standard advanced notice. Though notice was given a day before, DMHHS denied it was
an “immediate disposition,” the only way that an encampment can be cleared with less than the
requisite seven days of notice under D.C.’s protocol. Later, DMMHS curiously and retroactively claimed
it was an immediate disposition. The circumstances surrounding the clearing certainly suggest that there
were other influences involved in D.C.’s decision. The E Street encampment clearing is only one early
instance of the chaos that federal interference and D.C. cooperation has caused. Of course, the clearest
instances of D.C. local and federal cooperation came after Executive Order 14333: Declaring a Crime
Emergency in the District of Columbia and Executive Order 14339: Additional Measures to Address the
Crime Emergency in the District of Columbia. These executive orders entangled D.C. government/ local
law enforcement with federal law enforcement in a way that still leaves community members
questioning the cooperation.
In August, community members and organizations that support those experiencing
homelessness rallied to protect unhoused D.C. residents from potential harm after it was indicated that
federal law enforcement would be randomly targeting D.C.’s unhoused encampment communities.
Unhoused community members and their advocates did not know what to expect or what
consequences would come from any law enforcement interaction at encampment sites. D.C.
government cooperated with the clearing of encampment sites, even when their involvement conflicted
with their own notices/D.C. policy. While the extreme levels of fear and disorder that D.C.‘s unhoused
community and advocates felt in August have minimized slightly, residents cannot be assured of their
safety or protection by D.C. government as long as the Bowser Administration continues to cooperate
with federal efforts to disrupt our local community and frustrate local protections.
D.C. government should not be coordinating with the federal government for encampment
policing. D.C. must ensure that it is not sharing data or other information with those seeking to violate
human rights and harm community members. D.C. government must demonstrate a clear commitment
to protecting its most vulnerable residents and upholding its own laws. Erasing the visibility of
homelessness does not erase homelessness. The solution to homelessness is housing, not further
displacement and dispossession.
For a joint letter of organizations, including The Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless,
expressing disappointment with the Bowser Administration cooperation and other relevant accounts of
the harm of the August encampment clearings and recent federal interference/cooperation, we submit
the following articles and statements below:
https://www.legalclinic.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Joint-Letter-from-DC-Orgs-in-Response-to-Bowsers-Federal-Intrusion-Praise.pdf
https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/14/politics/washington-dc-homeless-trump
https://streetsensemedia.org/article/encampment-clearings-begin-after-trump-orders-federaltakeover-of-mpd/
https://www.legalclinic.org/d-c-stands-strong-against-trump-administrations-escalated-attacks-against-unhoused-d-c-residents/
https://www.legalclinic.org/press-release-unlawful-arrests-and-forced-displacement-of-homeless-dc-residents-expected-as-soon-as-tonight/