ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –The U.S. Supreme Court is taking up a case that could impact how states and local agencies decide to deal with the issue of homeless encampments. UNM School of Law Professor Joshua Kastenberg joins Gabby on the New Mexico News Podcast to discuss Albuquerque’s current policies on encampments, and the local implications of the case known as Grants Pass v. Johnson.
Are there similarities between this case and New Mexico’s homeless issues? What immediate impacts can states expect after this Supreme Court decision, if any?
Kastenberg explains some of the complexities of removing encampments. “Removing encampments doesn’t really remove people,” he explained.
“There are certain communities – and they are almost always poor communities – that bear the brunt of crime, and bear the brunt of homelessness, and when encampments are shut down, people tend to be corralled into those communities because they’re less policed,” said Kastenberg.
“And I would hope that’s something the court considers when they talk about the authority of a city the size of ours or something much bigger, like the size of Los Angeles, or Chicago, to be able to close down encampments,” he added. “Because then you’ve got masses of people wandering around everywhere.”
Listen to the full discussion above or wherever you get your podcasts.
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