Is It a Crime to Be Homeless in Texas?

It’s 3 a.m. in Houston. A man named Marcus sleeps under a bridge, wrapped in a thin blanket. He’s not drunk. He’s not violent. He’s just out of work, out of luck, and out of options. Police wake him up, tell him he’s violating a city ordinance, and issue a citation. His crime? Sleeping where he can’t afford to pay rent. This isn’t a scene from a movie. It’s happening right now across Texas - and it’s legal.

What Texas Law Actually Says

Texas doesn’t have a statewide law that makes homelessness a crime. But that doesn’t mean being homeless is safe. Over 30 cities in Texas - including Austin, Dallas, San Antonio, and Fort Worth - have passed ordinances that ban sleeping, sitting, or lying down in public spaces. These rules are often called "anti-camping" laws. They don’t target tents or encampments directly. They target people. And if you’re homeless, you’re almost always in a public space.

For example, in Austin, it’s illegal to sleep on sidewalks, in parks, or under overpasses if you’re not in a designated shelter. In Dallas, you can’t sit or lie down on public property between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Violations are Class C misdemeanors. That means fines up to $500. If you can’t pay? You get jailed.

These laws aren’t new. They started popping up in the early 2010s as cities scrambled to "clean up" downtown areas. But here’s the problem: there aren’t enough shelters to go around. In Houston, there are only about 4,500 emergency shelter beds for an estimated 8,000 homeless people on any given night. In El Paso, the ratio is worse: 1,200 beds for over 2,500 people. So when police cite someone for sleeping on the street, they’re not enforcing public safety - they’re punishing poverty.

How Courts Have Ruled

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court weighed in on this issue in City of Grants Pass v. Johnson. The court ruled 6-3 that cities can enforce bans on sleeping in public, even when no shelter space is available. The decision overturned lower court rulings that said such laws violated the Eighth Amendment - which protects against cruel and unusual punishment.

That ruling gave Texas cities a green light. Now, local governments feel empowered to ticket, seize belongings, and even arrest people for sleeping outside. In Lubbock, police began sweeping encampments in late 2024, confiscating tents, sleeping bags, and personal documents. In San Antonio, officers started using drones to scan parks for people at night.

Legal experts say this is a dangerous shift. The Supreme Court didn’t say it’s fair. It didn’t say it’s moral. It just said cities can do it. And Texas is taking full advantage.

The Real Cost of Criminalizing Homelessness

These laws don’t make homelessness disappear. They just move it - and make it worse.

When someone gets fined $500 for sleeping on the sidewalk, they can’t pay it. So they get arrested. Then they miss work. Lose their job. Their court date conflicts with their one-time ride to a job interview. They get a criminal record. Suddenly, they can’t rent an apartment, apply for food stamps, or get a job that requires a background check. The cycle tightens.

Studies from the National Law Center on Homelessness & Poverty show that cities spend 3 to 5 times more on policing and jailing homeless people than they do on housing and services. In Dallas, the city spent $12 million on enforcing anti-camping laws in 2024. That same money could have paid for 1,200 permanent supportive housing units for a year.

And the human cost? It’s staggering. People who are criminalized for sleeping outside are more likely to experience violence, overdose, or die on the streets. A 2025 report from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission found that homeless people are 12 times more likely to die prematurely than the general population. Many of those deaths happen after repeated citations, stress, or exposure.

What’s Being Done About It

Not everyone in Texas agrees with these laws. Advocacy groups like the Texas Coalition to End Homelessness and the ACLU of Texas have filed lawsuits challenging the enforcement of these ordinances. Some cities are trying alternatives.

In Austin, a pilot program called "Safe Rest Villages" offers temporary, sanctioned encampments with clean water, bathrooms, and case managers. It’s not perfect - it’s still temporary housing - but it’s a step away from criminalization. In Denton, city officials partnered with churches to open 24/7 warming centers during winter months. In San Marcos, they stopped enforcing overnight bans after a judge ruled the city had no available shelter space.

But these efforts are small. They’re underfunded. And they’re not the law. They’re exceptions in a system built to punish.

Why This Matters Beyond Texas

Texas is the largest state in the U.S. with the most aggressive anti-homeless laws. But it’s not alone. California, Florida, and Oregon have similar rules. What happens in Texas sets a precedent. If courts allow cities to jail people for sleeping outside, it opens the door for every other city to do the same.

This isn’t about cleanliness or safety. It’s about who gets to exist in public space. If you have a home, you can sit on a bench. If you don’t, you’re a criminal. That’s not justice. That’s exclusion dressed up as policy.

What You Can Do

You don’t need to be an activist to make a difference. Here’s what works:

• Donate to local shelters - not just blankets and food, but legal aid funds. Many homeless people need lawyers to fight citations.
• Support ballot measures that fund housing, not policing. In 2024, Austin voters approved a $200 million housing bond. That’s the kind of change that matters.
• Speak up. Ask your city council: "Are we spending more on arresting homeless people than on housing them?"
• Volunteer. Not just at soup kitchens. Volunteer with groups that help people clear criminal records tied to homelessness.

Homelessness isn’t a crime. But in Texas, it’s being treated like one. And until we stop treating poverty as a violation, we’re not just failing people - we’re making them criminals for being alive.