Homelessness, California-Style

by Brian Campbell

The Five-Step Homelessness Process:

1. Prioritize Illegal Immigrants

2. Criminalize Poverty

3. Throw billions into a rathole

4. Blame Trump for failure

5. Rewrite Reality

Ah, California. The land of sunshine, palm trees, and—oh yes—multi-billion-dollar homelessness budgets that somehow end with more tents under the overpasses than ever before.

But here’s the dirty little secret no one in Sacramento or Santa Barbara wants to say out loud: we don’t have a homeless problem; we have a housing shortage problem. I know, you say, “No, duh!” But hear me out: we don’t need to “build, baby, build.” We need to enforce the laws of this country and protect Americans.

You see, the shortage we have was deliberately created by our California government.

Governor Gavin Newsom. Congressman Salud Carbajal. The Santa Barbara City Council. The SB County Board of Supervisors. They don’t care about Americans trying to live, work, and raise families here.

What’s worse is that They value illegal immigrants over American citizens.

Santa Barbara is short 8,000 housing units. Meanwhile, 16,000 units are occupied by people who aren’t supposed to be here at all. Do the math (don’t worry, we’ll help if you attended school in California and don’t do math):

Remove the illegal occupation.

Suddenly Santa Barbara would have a housing surplus.

That surplus would drive rents down, housing would become affordable again, and thousands of homeless citizens (including veterans down on their luck) would actually have a shot at getting off the streets.

But alas, California prefers its cheap, controllable labor force. Illegals can be underpaid, politically weaponized, and used to pad census counts for more federal seats. The people being crushed are–you guessed it–working families and the homeless.

Let’s review the comedy routine, shall we?

Step One: Prioritize Illegal Immigrants

California spends more every year on undocumented immigrants than on the homeless:

$7–8 billion annually for Medi-Cal coverage alone. Up to $30+ billion a year in broader benefits and services.

Compare that with about $1.9 billion a year for homelessness programs, or $24 billion total since 2019—which no one can fully account for.

So yes, people who’ve ignored immigration law are prioritized over American citizens sleeping in parks and under freeway overpasses. That’s not compassion; that’s policy malpractice.

Step Two: Criminalize Poverty

In May 2025, Governor Newsom rolled out his grand plan: encampments are out, “urgency and dignity” are in. Translation: you can’t live in a tent more than three nights in the same spot or you’ll be treated like a criminal. We don’t care where you go, just leave.

Sure, it sounds nice on a press release. Sweep the encampments, clear the “blight,” give everyone 48 hours’ notice to pack their cardboard mansion and shuffle off. But here’s the catch: neither the Governor nor anyone in California officialdom has provided any alternative housing. Shelters are closing left and right—Santa Barbara PATH just announced it’s shutting down—and the state’s new model is basically: “Move along; we’re tired of looking at you.”

And yet the state raises tens of millions to defend illegals from deportation. Illegals who are occupying affordable housing that should be homes for Americans, not citizens of other countries.

If you or I did that—kicked someone off our property without offering so much as a couch—we’d be sued by the government and labeled heartless monsters. When the state does it, it’s called “compassionate governance.”

Step Three: Misplace Billions, Shrug It Off

California has spent $24 billion since 2019 on homelessness. That’s “billion” with a “B.” What does it have to show for it? Not less homelessness. Not stabilized communities. No, no—the numbers went up. The state of California continues to spend billions of dollars to make the homelessness situation worse, not better.

Santa Barbara alone has spent $76 million over the last four years, and has managed to house 1,368 people… During that same period, 1,712 brand-new people became homeless. It’s like bailing water from a sinking boat while drilling new holes in the hull.

The solution?

Change the definition of success. Instead of measuring actual decreases in homelessness, Santa Barbara has decided that “success” now means “functional zero.” Bureaucrat-speak for: everyone knows we failed at helping Americans get off the street, but we’ll declare victory anyway to justify our paychecks and the millions we take in fees and salaries.

They think you won’t notice the sidewalks are still crowded with tents.

Step Four: Close the Doors, Then Point Fingers

PATH shelter? Closing. Local nonprofits? Overwhelmed. Newsom’s budget? Slashed future homelessness funds to nearly zero. I guess they’re done “misplacing” billions of dollars.

And yet—brace yourself—when the problem doesn’t magically disappear, the local media doesn’t ask if or whether Sacramento has misplaced billions of taxpayer funds, or why Santa Barbara’s “homeless czars” keep changing the rules. No, the finger gets pointed… at Donald Trump.

Our good old local propaganda machines have zero desire to help and even less skill at being actual reporters.

Because of course it’s Trump’s fault! Orange Man Bad. Don’t use common sense. Believe that a man who has never governed California for a single day in its 175-year history is somehow responsible for the decades-old failure of homelessness policy.

Step Five: Rewrite Reality

California’s motto should be updated: “Eureka—We Found Someone Else to Blame.”

Here’s the math Sacramento won’t touch: if illegals were deported—because yes, they are here illegally—California wouldn’t just free up 16,000 housing units in Santa Barbara alone, it would free up a massive statewide surplus.

Instead of a shortage crisis, we’d actually have more homes than we need. Basic supply and demand would finally kick in—rents would drop, working families could actually afford to live where they work, and thousands of homeless American citizens would be able to get off the streets.

On top of that, California would no longer be bleeding $31 billion every year on benefits, healthcare, and subsidies, for people who have no legal right to be here. That money could be redirected to s directly support Americans in need. In short: homelessness could be solved.

But Sacramento doesn’t want that. They’d rather misspend your tax dollars on leveraging cheap labor and for political power.

“Woe to the shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! ….” - Ezekiel 34:2–3

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