While officials in Mobile and Biloxi argue over whether it is legal to transport homeless people across state lines, local advocates say they continue to focus on the mission of helping the most vulnerable people in their communities.

“We don’t want to get into the politics of it, but if somebody comes to our door and needs help, we’re going to help them,” said Mark Isbell, a spokesperson for the Waterfront Rescue Mission, a shelter in Mobile for homeless people.

Isbell and other advocates say that police from Biloxi, a city just across the state line in Mississippi, have been driving homeless people more than 60 miles to Mobile since at least 2022. But it was just last month that a top city official sent a public letter to the mayor of Biloxi, demanding that police in the Mississippi city of about 50,000 people stop transporting homeless people to Mobile.

“Over the past several months, the City of Mobile has noticed an influx of homeless individuals and an increased number of police calls associated with that ever-increasing number,” said James Barber, chief of staff to Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson in the letter to the mayor of Biloxi on Oct 5.

In the letter, Barber also suggested that Biloxi officials might be violating the rights of homeless people by using intimidation and deception, threats of jail time and promises for a better life to get them to agree to the trip across state lines. The city said it interviewed several people who were dropped off outside shelters in Mobile and found many consistencies in their stories.

“The (Biloxi) officer insinuates the individual has a choice of either going to jail or being transported to Mobile,” the letter from the city said. “Although an actual threat of arrest is never articulated, the clear connotation of the exchange leaves the homeless individual with no alternative but to be transported to Mobile.”

Eric Overstreet, who has worked as a minister with homeless people for over 15 years, said he heard similar allegations from people who sought help at shelters and notified the city about a year ago.

Citing the city’s lengthy delay in taking a public stance, Overstreet questioned the city’s motivation for sending the letter, saying he doesn’t believe Mobile officials are concerned about the well-being of homeless people. Instead, he believes the city is looking to satisfy constituents concerned about a national increase in homeless populations.

Mobile officials confirmed that the city received reports of the people transported from Biloxi in the fall of 2022. But they said they took action after getting a video from advocates last month, showing an interview with a homeless man who said Biloxi police drove him to Mobile rather than sending him to jail.

Candace Cooksey, a city spokesperson, said Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s office waited to gather “sufficient evidence” before sending the letter.

“The intent was to make the leadership of Biloxi aware of this practice, if they weren’t already, and ask them to stop immediately,” Cooksey said in a statement.

Overstreet said that over his many years of advocating for homeless people, the population has grown.

“I’ve got some ideas how to fix it,” Overstreet said. “The city doesn’t let you do what you want to do. You know, Mayor Stimpson, his plan is just to run them out of town.”

Biloxi Mayor Andrew “FoFo” Gilich maintains his city did nothing wrong. In a letter responding to Mobile officials, Gilich said that the people taken to Mobile wanted to go and that Biloxi had been in “contact and coordination” with the shelters.

“The city of Biloxi said that they had an agreement with us,” Isbell said. “We do not have an agreement with them.”

Isbell said that the first few men who came to the shelter in 2022 seemed to have been misled by Biloxi police. They were expecting jobs, cars and housing. One person immediately called a friend or family member to pick them up and drive them back to Mississippi. Two other men left the shelter within just a few days.

Regardless of whether the people are coming from Biloxi or Mobile, homelessness is on the rise across America, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. The increase in homeless populations has slowed since 2020 due in part to federal resources being devoted to preventing homelessness, according to the Alliance.

John Kozlinski, founder of Port City Samaritan’s Home, said that Mobile has the appeal of devoted volunteers to help homeless people, organizations with strong reputations and temperate weather. In cities across the nation and even in the South, homeless people are at risk of freezing to death in winter.

Kozlinski said Biloxi doesn’t have the same resources, leaving some homeless people with nowhere to go.

“They want them away from the casinos,” Kozlinski said. “They figured they’ll ship them off to Mobile because it’s close, and no one’s gonna say anything.”