President Donald Trump used a White House press briefing this week to announce that he had signed an executive order he said is aimed at “bringing back mental institutions and insane asylums” in the United States, a move he framed as part of his administration’s effort to address crime, homelessness and public safety. Trump said the action was necessary to “get the people off the streets,” and recounted memories from his upbringing in Queens, New York, where he said he noticed a large psychiatric facility called Creedmoor that had bars on its windows. He suggested that the closure of such facilities in recent decades contributed to more people living on the streets.
Trump’s comments came during a lengthy briefing, where he highlighted a range of his administration’s policies and claimed successes. In discussing the executive order, he said, “Signed an executive order to bring back mental institutions and insane asylums; we’re going to have to bring them back. Hate to build those suckers, but you’ve got to get the people off the streets.” He described Creedmoor as a facility he remembered from childhood and said many such institutions had been taken down.
🚨 WATCH: President Trump says he signed an executive order to bring back “mental institutions” and “insane asylums,” aiming to move people off the streets.pic.twitter.com/KOJ077e7fq
— Derrick Evans (@DerrickEvans4WV) January 20, 2026
The order Trump referenced is widely understood to be a July 2025 executive action directing federal agencies to promote the use of long-term institutional settings for people experiencing homelessness who have serious mental health issues or substance use disorders, and to expand legal avenues for involuntary treatment. Civil rights organizations warned at the time that the order could upend decades of legal precedent and strip people of key rights, because it encourages criminalization and involuntary institutionalization of unhoused and mentally ill individuals rather than supporting community-based care.
The history of psychiatric institutions in the United States helps explain why Trump’s remarks drew attention. Large state-run mental hospitals and asylums were once common throughout the country. The process of deinstitutionalization began in the mid-20th century, driven by the introduction of antipsychotic medications that made outpatient treatment more feasible and by changes in federal funding rules that discouraged long-term hospitalization. Between 1955 and 2005, the number of beds in state and county psychiatric hospitals fell by more than 90 percent, as policymakers shifted care toward community-based services. This shift was further reinforced by federal Medicaid policies that limited reimbursement for treatment in larger institutions and by court decisions emphasizing community integration for people with disabilities.
Creedmoor Psychiatric Center, the facility Trump mentioned, reflects this broader history. Opened in the early 20th century on a site in Queens, New York, the center housed thousands of inpatients at its peak. Intakes began to decline in the 1960s as new medications and deinstitutionalization policies took hold, and portions of the facility were repurposed or sold off in later decades. By the early 2000s, parts of the Creedmoor campus had been redeveloped for other community uses, although some mental health services still operate on a reduced footprint.
Mental health experts and advocates have for years debated the best way to care for people with serious mental illness, especially those living without stable housing. Community-based treatment and “Housing First” strategies have been shown to improve outcomes without requiring people to meet clinical thresholds before receiving services, but Trump’s executive order shifts focus toward institutional settings and expands involuntary commitment. Critics argue this shift could undermine civil liberties protections established by Supreme Court decisions such as Olmstead v. L.C., which held that unjustified segregation of people with disabilities violates federal disability rights law.
