Judge rules “homeless” camps can’t be removed from public spaces

Last week a New Mexico district judge ruled that the City of Albuquerque cannot clear “homeless” encampments out of public spaces. The case sprang out of the City’s decision to clear the dangerous and unclean Coronado Park encampment which had become a scene of serious drug trade/usage as well as 5 homicides, numerous assaults, and intensive application of police resources.

But, the ACLU sued and state District Judge Joshua Allison (appointed by Gov. Lujan Grisham in 2019) agreed. We at Rio Grande Foundation have regularly criticized the judiciary for their role in allowing crime to fester out of control. It is not surprising that a liberal MLG-appointed judge would view Coronado Park and other public camping as being okay or that the taxpayers of the City must provide the “homeless” housing in order to prevent them from occupying public spaces.