Two thirds of voters say America’s fast-rising vagrancy rates are out of control and want mayors to move the homeless to tent encampments outside cities, our poll shows

More than two-thirds of American adults say homelessness has gotten out of control and officials should move those sleeping rough to tent camps outside cities, our survey shows.

The DailyMail.com/TIPP poll shows that 67 percent of Americans are fed up with the country’s rapidly rising number of homeless people and want mayors to take drastic action to tackle the scourge.

More than 650,000 people were recorded as homeless by the federal government in its annual 2023 snapshot released last month – a 12 per cent increase from the previous year.

Officials in Portland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas and other cities have responded to public anger over homelessness in recent months by dismantling makeshift shelters and relocating people.

A city work crew arrived at a homeless camp in Portland, Maine, earlier this month to clear out the tents and people

Scenes of homeless drug addicts stumbling on sidewalks and fears of violence and petty crime have become a national political issue, with former President Donald Trump making it part of his campaign platform.

In a video op homelessness released by his campaignTrump said “hard-working, law-abiding citizens” were sidelined and had to “suffer at the whims of some deeply sick people.”

He promised to “ban urban camping” and create “tent cities” on “cheap land” for the homeless, which will be staffed with doctors and social workers to help people address systemic problems.

Yet homeless people and their advocates say the cleanup and relocation policy is cruel and a waste of taxpayer dollars. The answer, they say, is more affordable housing, not a crackdown.

However, our survey of 1,401 adults found that tough policies resonated with a large share of US voters – with more than two-thirds saying they were in favor of resettlement camps.

Respondents who were democratically oriented were eager to resettle unhoused people. More than 74 percent of them wanted the homeless to move, compared to 64 percent of Republicans and 62 percent of independents.

Younger respondents between the ages of 18 and 24, members of racial minorities and those making less than $30,000 a year were eager to move the homeless. This may be because these groups live in areas that are more affected by homelessness.

Donald Trump has promised to ‘ban urban camping’ and create ‘tent cities’ on ‘cheap land’ for the homeless if he is re-elected in November

The same was true for those living in urban areas, where the concentration is unhoused. As many as 76 percent of residents in towns and cities were in favor of clearing out the homeless, compared to 61 percent of those in rural areas.

U.S. homelessness rose to a record 653,100 people during a one-night count early last year, reflecting a rise in the number of newly homeless people, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

The estimate estimated that about 20 in 10,000 people in the U.S. were experiencing homelessness — including those who were sleeping on the streets, staying in a vehicle, staying with friends or family, or living in a shelter.

That’s the highest number since HUD started reporting the statistic in 2007.

Biden administration officials have attributed the boom in new homelessness to rising rents, the winding down of pandemic-era protections and programs against evictions and housing losses.

Rents rose sharply at the end of 2022, due to a shortage of affordable housing.

San Francisco police clear the streets of homeless people ahead of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) trade summit in November

Makeshift encampments built by homeless people have long been a fixture of West Coast cities, but have recently spread across the US and even become an eyesore in Washington, DC.

Data obtained by The Associated Press late last year shows efforts to clear encampments increased in cities from LA to New York as public pressure mounted to address what many residents say are dangerous and unsanitary living conditions.

But despite the tens of millions of dollars spent in recent years, there appears to be little reduction in the number of tents being placed on sidewalks, in parks and at highway exits.

Officials in San Francisco took drastic measures to clear the streets of shelters to ensure foreign dignitaries did not have to interact with homeless people during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom, whose state is home to nearly a third of the nation’s homeless population, says abandoning dangerous makeshift camps is neither compassionate nor an option.

He is among Democratic and Republican leaders who have urged the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh a rule against local governments that clear camps without first ensuring that everyone living there is offered an indoor bed.