NEW ORLEANS — A Civil Court judge has temporarily blocked state homeless sweeps in New Orleans. Judge Ethel Julien granted a restraining order sought by a group of unhoused residents just as state police and wildlife agents were preparing to remove people from French Quarter streets.
State agents had already begun distributing notices warning unhoused residents to leave within 24 hours or face relocation to a state-designated site.
State Rep. Alonzo Knox, D-New Orleans, said local residents are frustrated. "New Orleanians have been most compassionate and they've been most patient. They've had enough. They want the city to take action and do something and if the city doesn't want to do it, my constituents don't have a problem with the state doing it," Knox said.
On Monday, Under the Bridge Ministries fed homeless individuals on Calliope Street. Former State Treasurer John Schroder, one of the organizers, expressed skepticism about the sweeps. "These folks are hungry. They're not going anywhere. They just move from one spot to the other. There's got to be a better solution than just moving them from Point A to Point B," he said.
A former Shreveport firefighter now living on the streets, who asked to be identified only as Antonio, criticized the proposed relocation site. "I think they should come up with something, somewhere to allow us to go or put us, not just shoving all of us under a bridge farther down in a bad neighborhood," he said.
The judge's order requires the state to post notices 24 hours before any homeless sweep and prohibits officials from destroying or seizing personal property without due process. She is expected to decide whether to extend the order or grant a preliminary injunction at a hearing on December 3.
The Louisiana State Police said in a statement that the LSP "promptly halted activities and is complying with the restrictions imposed by the TRO."
Republican Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who initially called for the sweeps last month prior to a trio of Taylor Swift concerts, responded after Judge Julien issued the restraining order.
“If a judge believes that people have a right to be on whatever public space they choose, maybe that judge should have them move into her chambers and courtroom," Landry stated.
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