The Department of Justice is offering a combined $3 billion for state and local governments to combat illegal immigration.
President Donald Trump’s officials posted the funding opportunity June 15 under the Bridging Immigration-Related Deficits Experienced Nationwide Program, or “BIDEN.” The program stems from provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed in July 2025, to assist states that resisted former President Joe Biden‘s policies that brought historically high illegal border crossings.
The money will support governments in “locating and apprehending” illegal immigrants who commit crimes while in the United States, related courtroom tasks, collecting data on gang activity, and temporarily detaining and transporting migrants, according to the DOJ.
“Awards from this program should be used to support significant participation in and support of Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) activities, and other DOJ efforts to combat gangs, cartels, and other violent crime,” the DOJ said.
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Applicants can request funding to build or revitalize detention facilities and recruit law enforcement officers. For law enforcement operations, the funding can cover gear such as “Unmanned Arial Systems (UAS), bodyworn cameras,” and “body armor,” the DOJ said.
“For four years, President Biden’s disastrous open-border policies wreaked havoc on our nation, and no state did more during that time to fill in the gaps to try to protect and defend the southern border than Texas,” said Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), who proposed the BIDEN program in Congress.
“I’m glad the Department of Justice has followed through on my reimbursement provision by opening the application process for funding to reimburse states like Texas for the billions of dollars spent to try and secure the border after Joe Biden’s dereliction of this federal responsibility,” he said. “Coupled with the funding delegated to the Department of Homeland Security, states who pitched in on border security efforts can now apply for reimbursement for costs incurred by their taxpayers during the Biden administration.”