Homelessness in U.S. hits all-time high after 12% increase in just one year



The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a sharp increase in homelessness at the beginning of 2023, with a 12% increase in single-night numbers.

HUD used "Point-in-Time Estimates," which reported the number of people in shelters, those in temporary housing, and those simply unsheltered.

The report found that 653,000 individuals were "experiencing homelessness" on a single night in January 2023, a 12% increase from 2022. The rise represents 70,650 more homeless. The new number represents the largest number of homeless people in the country since the agency began surveying such data in 2007, the Epoch Times noted.

HUD blamed the rise on a post-pandemic expiration of resources, after the department claimed funding prevented a rise in homelessness between 2020 and 2022.

However, homelessness among families who have children saw the greatest increase at 15.5%, while homeless veterans increased by 7.4%. More than half of those who are homeless reportedly lived in just four states: California, Florida, New York, and Washington.

At the same time, HUD pointed to mostly Texan cities as places where homelessness has been curtailed as part of government programs.

For example, the government agency stated that Dallas City and County saw "a small decrease of 3.8% in overall homelessness as well as a 14% decrease in unsheltered homelessness and 32% decrease in chronic homelessness between 2022 and 2023."

It also cited San Antonio and Houston, Texas, as examples. As well, San Jose/Santa Clara City and Watsonville/Santa Cruz City, California, were touted as success stories.

Homeless individuals decreased by 1.2% in Santa Clara County and dropped by 4.7% in the city limits of San José, the document noted, while the Santa Cruz area saw a 21.5% decrease in homelessness. The latter, HUD explained, was due to "significant influx on resources from federal and state government agencies in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic."

"Homelessness is solvable and should not exist in the United States," said Secretary Marcia L. Fudge. "From day one, this Administration has put forth a comprehensive plan to tackle homelessness and we’ve acted aggressively and in conjunction with our federal, state, and local partners to address this challenge," she added.

Kari Lake, candidate for U.S. Senate, blamed President Joe Biden's policies for fueling the homelessness crisis. Lake also noted that Democrat Rep. Ruben Gallego's district in Phoenix, Arizona, has been particularly plagued with homelessness.

"In Joe Biden's America, it's almost impossible to pay rent or afford a home," she wrote. "Homelessness nationwide just reached its highest reported level at 12%. Nowhere in Arizona is this more obvious than Ruben Gallego's district." she added.

HUD noted Tucson, Arizona, has had a "9% reduction in unsheltered homelessness, as well as slight 1% decrease in overall homelessness" from 2022 to 2023.

In @JoeBiden's America, it's almost impossible to pay rent or afford a home. \n\nHomeless nationwide just reached its highest reported level at 12%.\n\nNowhere in Arizona is this more obvious than @RubenGallego's district. \n\nRuben's negligence & rubberstamping of Biden's agenda let\xe2\x80\xa6
— (@)

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'Biden! Biden!' Migrants cheer for President Biden as thousands approach Arizona-Mexico border



Migrants in Mexico chanted in favor of President Biden as a caravan of thousands approaches the U.S.-Mexico border at Arizona.

A migrant caravan, reportedly consisting of approximately 7,000 migrants, has made its way into Mexico and is set to arrive just days after footage of the travelers was posted online.

Despite Biden having declared that there would be "consequences for illegal entry," Biden has already requested that Congress "appropriate $1.4 billion to help state and local governments provide shelter and services for migrants," Blaze TV's Sara Gonzales explained.

Gonzales reported on the sea of immigrants heading to the United States by way of the Darién Gap, many of whom are allegedly being led by "Chinese influencers."

"Crowd of military-aged men in a massive US-bound caravan chant 'BIDEN! BIDEN! BIDEN!'" Muckraker reported on X.

"In Huixtla, Mexico, a caravan of migrants celebrate [Biden] & his enabler [Ruben Gallego] for opening our borders," wrote former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake. "2,000 miles away, Arizonans brace for the entry of more unvetted immigrants that we cannot feed or house. It doesn’t have to be like this."

In Huixtla, Mexico, a caravan of migrants celebrate @JoeBiden & his enabler @RubenGallego for opening our borders.\n\n2,000 miles away, Arizonans brace for the entry of more unvetted immigrants that we cannot feed or house.\n\nIt doesn\u2019t have to be like this.
— (@)

"They want your taxpayer dollars to pay for them welcoming these immigrants with open arms," Gonzales continued.

"We can't ask who they are, we can't ask what they're going to do here, what they're going to give to us,” added Pat Gray. "We have to only mention what we're going to do for them."

The Biden administration has already seen record numbers of illegal immigrants cross the southwest land border; 2023 marks the second straight year of all-time highs in border encounters.

Fiscal year 2022 saw 2,378,944 encounters with illegal immigrants, while fiscal year 2023 set a new record at 2,475,669. By comparison, both 2022 and 2023 fiscal years under President Biden saw more border encounters than the entirety of President Trump's term combined.

The last two record-setting years under President Biden even combined for nearly 1.5 million more border encounters than the entire eight years of Barack Obama's presidency, historical data shows.

"President Biden has done more to reopen the border to illegal immigrants and stimulate the human smuggling industry," Republican Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) said, according to Townhall.

Migrants in the caravan are traveling from across central and South America and even from communist Cuba, the outlet reported. El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, and Venezuela are other countries of origin.

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Eric Swalwell and fellow Democrat enjoy shirtless camel ride during Middle East trip paid for by special interest group



A couple of Democratic congressmen are seen shirtless and smiling while riding camels during a Middle East trip that was paid for by a special interest group. Photos show Democratic Reps. Eric Swalwell of California and Ruben Gallego of Arizona enjoying a camel ride in Qatar along the Persian Gulf. The photos of the trip that took place earlier this year show Swalwell without a face mask.

Photos of the Democratic congressmen in Qatar were published by Business Insider, which said the trip cost $84,621.59, and was paid for by the US-Qatar Business Council, which describes itself as "dedicated exclusively to enhancing the bilateral business relationship between the U.S. and Qatar."

The photos had been posted on social media by Sydney Barron Gallego, the wife of Ruben Gallego.

"Sand dunes, camels, and the persian gulf," the caption reads on one of the photos from Qatar, which was posted on a now-deleted Instagram account of Gallego's wife. The photo featured the Democratic representatives with their wives, all of which were not wearing masks, on a camel ride on Sealine Beach.

While Eric Swalwell was scolding people for not following COVID rules he was taking special-interest funded trips t… https://t.co/of8LaB3wkI

— Mike Berg (@MikeKBerg) 1625872965.0

The junket took place in March, at a time when there was a surge in coronavirus cases in Qatar. It was also the same time that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urged everyone to wear face masks, even if they were outside, and even if they were vaccinated against COVID-19. Currently, the U.S. State Department tells U.S. travelers to "reconsider" travel to Qatar.

Besides Swalwell and Gallego, the US-Qatar Business Council also flew Reps. Luis Correa (D-Calif.), Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.), and Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) to the wealthy Middle East country. The group of U.S. politicians were staying at the five-star, luxurious, oceanfront Four Seasons Hotel in Doha, Qatar's capital city.

On April 1, the US-Qatar Business Council posted a photo of the American lawmakers meeting Qatar's monarch, Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

In a trip organized by USQBC, members of the US House of Representatives including @RepSwalwell, @RubenGallego,… https://t.co/w0zy2SLZfK

— US-Qatar Business Council (@USQatar) 1617286058.0

The representatives received approval from the House Ethics Committee for the trip; however, House rules clearly state that lawmakers are not permitted to accept invitations to participate in entertainment activities funded by private groups.

The outlet notes that Swalwell's disclosure "appears to have been filed past the 15-day deadline."

"While there are mentions of museum and marketplace visits on the itinerary, none specifically mention a camel ride," the report stated. "Parts of the schedule were open for 'personal time.'"

Business Insider said, "Neither of the congressmen's offices responded to questions about the photos and who paid for the outing."

Swalwell, who is a prominent member of the House Intelligence Committee, was embroiled with another controversy in December. A report surfaced that a suspected Chinese spy got so involved with Swalwell that federal investigators had to alert the congressman.

Republicans called for Swalwell to be removed from his House Intel Committee position over his relationship with the suspected Chinese spy, Christine Fang.