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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Brian Barth

Revealed: how companies made $100m clearing California homeless camps

A person reacts as their possessions are seized during a sweep of an encampment in Los Angeles in January 2021.
A person reacts as their possessions are seized during a sweep of an encampment in Los Angeles in January 2021. Photograph: Patrick T Fallon/AFP/Getty Images

This story was produced in partnership with Type Investigations with support from the Wayne Barrett Project

On an October morning, a small army arrived to evict Rudy Ortega from his home in the Crash Zone, an encampment located near the end of the airport runway in San Jose, California, Silicon Valley’s largest city. As jets roared overhead, garbage trucks and police squad cars encircled Ortega’s hand-built shelter. Heavy machinery operators stood by for the signal to bulldoze Ortega’s camp.

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