The Department of Justice has released one of the largest law enforcement equipment and staffing grant opportunities in recent years—making approximately $3 billion available through the FY26 Bridging Immigration-Related Deficits Experienced Nationwide (BIDEN) Program.
But unlike traditional DOJ funding, this program is highly targeted. Eligibility is tied directly to an agency’s participation in federal immigration enforcement partnerships.
What the BIDEN Program funds
The program is designed to strengthen law enforcement, prosecution, and detention capabilities related to immigration enforcement and transnational crime, including gang activity, drug trafficking, and human trafficking.
Funding is flexible across several core categories:
- Personnel: Hiring or rehiring sworn officers, investigators, prosecutors, and detention staff
- Operations: Supporting enforcement, investigative, prosecution, detention, and transportation activities
- Technology and equipment: Investments that enhance investigations, intelligence sharing, and evidence management
For many agencies, the technology and equipment category will be the most actionable.
Allowable investments include (but are not limited to):
- Drones and counter-drone technology
- Body-worn cameras
- License plate readers
- Video surveillance systems
- Crime analysis and intelligence platforms
- Evidence management systems
- Forensic technology
- Communications and dispatch systems
- Jail and detention technology
- Other equipment and software that supports investigations, apprehensions, detention operations, and enforcement activities
The critical gating factor: federal partnership
While the funding is substantial, eligibility is the defining feature of this program.
To apply, agencies must either:
- Participate in (or commit to entering) an ICE 287(g) partnership, and
- Participate in (or commit to supporting) Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF) operations or similar DOJ-led initiatives
In practice, this means agencies must demonstrate active or planned collaboration with federal immigration enforcement efforts.
For agencies not currently engaged in these partnerships, participation would require both operational and policy alignment—making eligibility as much a strategic decision as an administrative one.
What this means for law enforcement leaders
This program highlights several important trends in federal grant funding and requires agencies to think beyond traditional grant strategy.
- Large-scale funding—but not universally accessible: While $3 billion in available funding is significant, many agencies will not meet eligibility requirements without aligning to federal partnership programs.
- Technology funding remains a major opportunity: For agencies that do qualify, the program presents a meaningful opportunity to modernize technology and equipment.
- Federal collaboration is increasingly tied to funding access: Grant eligibility is directly linked to participation in federal enforcement initiatives.
Key deadlines
• Round 1: July 15 (Grants.gov) / July 17 (JustGrants)
• Round 2: August 19 (Grants.gov) / August 21 (JustGrants)
• Round 3: September 23 (Grants.gov) / September 24 (JustGrants)
How to prepare
The first step is determining eligibility and alignment with federal partnership requirements. From there, successful applications will clearly connect requested funding to defined enforcement and investigation outcomes.
Final thoughts
The BIDEN Program represents a major federal investment in law enforcement—but it is not a general funding opportunity. It is a targeted program designed to support agencies engaged in federal immigration enforcement partnerships.
For those that qualify, it offers access to funding at a scale rarely seen in recent years. For others, it signals a broader shift in how federal funding is being structured—placing greater emphasis on alignment with national enforcement strategies.
