Campsite for homeless latest manoeuvre in political battle
Texas’ Republican governor said yesterday he is creating a homeless campsite on state land in the capital of Austin, escalating a battle with the city’s liberal leaders over people living on the streets.
Greg Abbott’s announcement was met with a mix of muted welcoming and accusations of political posturing from Democrats who run the state capital around the Texas Governor’s Mansion, where Abbott has spent months lashing out at the city’s homelessness problem on Twitter.
The plans to convert 2ha of state land on the outskirts of downtown into a campsite also drew the attention of national advocates for homeless, who couldn’t recall another state ever making such amove.
‘‘Outside of the national disaster context, I’m not aware of any state setting up an encampment like this,’’ said Eric Tars, legal director for the National Law Centre on Homelessness & Poverty in Washington.
Like other fast-growing cities in the US, Austin has struggled with homelessness as housing costs skyrocket. On Thursday, Las Vegas made sleeping on downtown streets illegal over protests about a ‘‘war on the poor.’’
President Donald Trump began a trip to California in September saying he would do something about homelessness but offered no specifics. He said cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco can’t ‘‘destroy themselves by allowing what’s happening.’’
But in Texas, Abbott has turned his attacks on his own backyard. The homeless in Austin grew more visible after Mayor