California Governor Gavin Newsom has ordered officials to begin removing encampments of unhoused people on state property and will encourage local officials to carry out similar sweeps. Newsom announced his executive order on Thursday, just weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court voted to criminalize sleeping and camping on public property.

Gov. Gavin Newsom: “It’s time to move with urgency at the local level to clean up these sites, to focus on public health and focus on public safety. There are no longer any excuses. A billion dollars this state has invested to support communities to clean up these encampments. We have now no excuse with the Supreme Court decision. This executive order is about pushing that paradigm further and getting the sense of urgency that’s required of local government to do their job.”

Housing rights advocates blasted Newsom’s executive order as “cowardly” and “cruel.” National Low Income Housing Coalition President Diane Yentel said, “You didn’t provide the needed affordable housing. You’re choosing political expediency over real solutions. That’s not leadership, it’s cowardice. This will only worsen homelessness.”