Louisiana governor relocating homeless people ahead of Super Bowl

Louisiana authorities are clearing homeless encampments around the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans ahead of next month's Super Bowl.

Gov. Jeff Landry (R) announced the sweep in an executive order Monday, framing the “strategy on homelessness” as a way to secure areas in the state ahead of the big event.

The news comes after the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans, when a man drove a pickup truck down busy Bourbon Street, killing 14 people.

In his announcement, Landry said the executive order will provide emergency funding to assist homeless people living in public spaces near where the activities will take place, including the Caesars Superdome, French Quarter, Interstate 10 and U.S. 90.

Landry noted the Bourbon Street attack, a recent fire under the interstate, frigid temperatures and the destruction of a streetcar line in his reasoning for the homelessness measures.

“It is in the best interest of every citizen’s safety and security to give the unhoused humane and safe shelter as we begin to welcome the world to the City of New Orleans for both Super Bowl LIX and Mardi Gras,” Landry said in a statement.

Last week, the Louisiana Supreme Court overturned a restraining order that banned police from clearing encampments in the city. People were given “relocation notices” near the football stadium, with warnings for noncompliance, The Associated Press reported.

As of Wednesday morning, state police gathered people at the encampment, told them to pack possessions into boxes and said there were buses to take them to a “transitional center.” The AP noted the center was miles away at a fenced-in warehouse.

Critics argue the pricy relocations to the center are a Band-Aid solution, since the state is spending more than $16 million on the warehouse and not providing permanent housing.

Some people who “have means” will be given bus or train tickets “out of state,” Landry’s announcement said.

Mike Steele, a spokesperson for the governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, told the AP that details surrounding the out-of-state relocation plan are still unclear, but it would be voluntary.

In Landry’s announcement, he said homeless people who have jobs will be prioritized for housing vouchers.

“Our administration will be working with stakeholders around the state to enact legislation reforms that should produce the framework needed to properly move people from homelessness to housing in a coherent, stair stepped plan,” the governor’s release said.

The Associated Press contributed.

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