Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) unveiled legislation Wednesday that would bar homeless people from being required to work in exchange for shelter, part of a bill he says targets the criminalization of homelessness rather than the underlying housing crisis.
Frost introduced the No Homeless Detention Centers Act at a press conference where supporters stood behind him holding signs reading “Housing Is a Human Right.”
“Right now there’s a growing effort in this country to treat homelessness like a crime instead of what it is: a housing crisis,” Frost said. “Homelessness is a housing issue. Since the Supreme Court’s disastrous grants passed decision, states and cities have been given even more room to criminalize people for sleeping outside, and we are seeing politicians and right-wing organizations push laws that ticket people, arrest people, sweep encampments, and force people into detention-like facilities.”
Frost said the practice isn’t limited to conservative jurisdictions. “It’s not just right-wing organizations, it’s democratic cities as well that are pursuing handcuffs instead of housing. That does not end homelessness. It just makes being homeless a crime,” he said. “This bill draws a line in the sand if you are receiving federal housing dollars, those dollars should be for helping people to get housed and not locking them away. You should not be forced to work in exchange for a bed.”
He added that people experiencing homelessness “should not be punished for sleeping, resting, eating, drinking, or protecting yourself from the elements” and “should never have to choose between being arrested and sleeping outside.” Frost pointed to housing costs and stagnant wages as the root causes: “The rent is too damn high, housing is too expensive, and wages have not kept up.”
Florida Context
The bill comes against the backdrop of Florida’s own escalating response to homelessness. In 2023, a homeless man in Florida was charged with first-degree arson after allegedly setting fire to a tent at an encampment while someone remained inside, leaving the victim with burns on his arms and legs, according to a prior Breitbart News report, which noted that “homeless encampments have become increasing eyesores and safety concerns for cities across the country.”
In 2024, the Florida House passed a bill barring homeless people from sleeping in public spaces and requiring local governments to establish designated encampments instead.
A separate 2024 report, issued during the Biden administration, found the national homeless population was rising as migrants arrived in major cities.
Trump’s July Order
In July 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order giving state and local governments more authority to clear homeless people from public streets. The order directs the Attorney General to work with the Secretaries of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation to “prioritize grants for states and municipalities that enforce prohibitions on open illicit drug use, urban camping and loitering, and urban squatting, and track the location of sex offenders.”
The order also redirects funding so that “individuals camping on streets and causing public disorder and that are suffering from serious mental illness or addiction are moved into treatment centers, assisted outpatient treatment, or other facilities.”
Frost’s bill stands in direct opposition to that approach. Frost, who has previously traveled to El Salvador to advocate for the release of deported illegal migrants, has accused Trump of “taking notes from dictators” and has said Republicans have brought the country into “Jim Crow 2.0.”
