Years ago, I never understood how these types of laws can be? But then again, I look at why HI passes anti 2a laws, then kind of understand.
Laws protecting squatters were enacted in the 1800s to protect those who set up a home on a piece of land, worked it, built on it, and was there for many years. Basically they were homesteading.
The land might have been owned by someone else at the time they settled or not. The land might be purchased or claimed later by someone else.
The laws prevent someone who is scooping up land from pushing people out of their homes without due process.
Today's squatters are nothing more than opportunists and scammers. They know they can squat in a place rent free for months or years until a court orders them out.
Some states are already making it easier for owners to have squatters removed, but it's a state-by-state process.
Unfortunately, owners believe the cops when told it's a civil matter. In some states, like FL (if memory serves), there's a law that allows the local Sherrif -- not police -- to eveict someone on the spot if the owner swears out a complaint that the squatters are trespassing.
Michigan just passed a new law to make it easier to differentiate between legal tenants vs. squatters. Tenants have to be afforded civil court due process, but squatters can be immediately removed.
What bugs me most are these AirBnB squatters. Saw one report of serial squatters who rent a nice temporary place, then refuse to leave. In the time it takes to get them out, they've trashed the place and the owners have lost months and months of rental income.
In the end, the squatters leave, but they never cough up the rent for the time they lived there, nor do they pay for cleaning or repairs.
I wonder if home insurance underwriters will start offering squatter's insurance for an additional premium? It could pay for alternative lodging, legal costs and repairs. It makes sense, because the property value can be lowered with squatters dragging out the eviction process while they remain on property and cause damage. Maybe some policies cover damage from squatters, but I doubt it.