If you thought progressive problems only hurt progressive cities, think again. Homeless squatters in Casper, Wyoming, destroyed a local motel, with repairs totaling millions of dollars, and left hundreds of pounds of human feces in the downtown area, according to the city’s mayor.

"It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. It’s third-world-country stuff happening in Casper, Wyoming," Mayor Bruce Knell told the Cowboy State Daily last week.

Knell said Homeless people who squatted at the Econo Lodge motel caused more damage than the flooding that initially closed the business down.

When public order is not maintained, this is what happens. I found no reports that anyone was actually held accountable for these crimes. City officials need to start prosecuting homelessness-related property crimes.

The council wants to change the city code to require squatters to get written consent from an owner of a property and set a time limit for camping on private property.

One of the biggest mistakes policymakers make when it comes to homelessness is not understanding that it has nothing to do with housing.

Even the term ‘homeless’ is absurd since the problem has nothing to do with a lack of housing but typically everything to do with drug abuse. You don't get 500 pounds of feces in the street from a bunch of sober people.

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration (SAMHSA), an estimated 64% of homeless people had drug use problems in the past month.

There are about 200 homeless people currently living in the city, with about 60,000 residents. Other homeless people are squatting in other abandoned properties in Casper that don’t have electricity or water.

Drug addiction is a huge risk factor for homelessness. Wyoming — along with Washington — saw the biggest percentage increase in overdose deaths of 22% in 2022, per CDC data.

“We know very well we cannot litigate our way or arrest our way out of the problem, but our police need some teeth to start dealing with the squatting,” Knell said. "They’re just causing so many problems."

Actually, you can arrest people for drug use.

Knell said the problem lies with the homeless who come to Casper to stay at its homeless shelter but are either kicked out or can’t get in and then never leave the city.

“There’s a certain part of the homeless population, whether substance abuse or mental illness, that is getting them to where they don’t want to conform to society’s rules,” Knell said. “When they do that they’re not allowed to go in the shelter, which means they’re just out and about in our community raising hell.”

City staff has also been forced to scoop up about 500 pounds of human feces in Casper’s downtown, where many homeless people loiter.

This is not complicated. All officials have to do is enforce laws against property crimes, drug use, and camping.