FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration
🏛 National Institute of Justice (USDOJ-OJP-NIJ)
✓ Free, no account · Source: Grants.gov · Last verified Oct 9, 2026
Can you apply?
This grant is for research and evaluation organizations examining how the adult criminal justice system responds to illegal immigration at state, local, and tribal levels. Units of local government (towns, boroughs, villages), state agencies, tribal nations, law enforcement, and research institutions may apply. Eligible activities include studying location and apprehension, court operations, detention, fraud investigation, gang and drug trafficking enforcement, and cooperation models between federal, state, local, and tribal justice systems. Proposals should examine innovative strategies and their effectiveness in addressing illegal immigration across single or multiple jurisdictions.
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Program description
This is a notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration. This opportunity supports proposals for rigorous, applied research and evaluations examining the adult criminal justice system (courts, law enforcement, jails, prisons, and community supervision) challenges and responses to illegal immigration and crimes committed by aliens while in the U.S. illegally at the state, local, and tribal levels. This includes, but is not limited to, location and apprehension, court operations, transportation and detention, investigating fraud and other crimes committed by illegal aliens, including creating an accurate profile of their rates of criminal activity, counter gang and criminal activity including drug and human trafficking operations. Criminal justice agencies often develop innovative solutions to local challenges that may provide insight to other jurisdictions. Applicants may propose studies examining single or multiple states and jurisdictions and models of cooperation between federal, state, local and tribal justice systems and other stakeholders. The goal of this NOFO is to identify innovative local strategies, evaluate their effectiveness, and inform practical, data-driven solutions that inform and strengthen the strategies that state, local, and tribal justice systems use to address illegal immigration.
Who can apply
Eligible applicants
How to apply
Application links
Key dates & requirements
Required documents
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- Project Narrative/Research Proposal
- Budget and Budget Narrative
- Organizational Capability Statement
- Letters of Support from Partner Agencies
- Evaluation Plan
- Dissemination/Utilization Plan
Program contact
- 👤 National Institute of Justice
- 📧 OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov
- 📞 202-616-5314
Funding track record
Recent awards under CFDA 16.560 from the last 3 years — real organizations that won funding through this same program.
Top 10 Largest Recent Awards
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$18,393,640
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$13,250,000
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$12,361,120
-
$6,998,958
-
$5,997,434
-
$5,691,859
-
$4,581,851
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$4,501,620
-
$4,000,000
-
$3,416,415
Top States by Funding
- NC 10 awards $42.3M
- VA 14 awards $28.8M
- PA 3 awards $14.3M
- CA 8 awards $13.3M
- MA 12 awards $12.9M
Source: USAspending.gov — federal spending transparency. Data covers last 3 years.
Funding history
Annual funding for this program — Federal obligations (CFDA 16.560). How funding has trended year over year.
| 2024 | $57,808,937 | |
| 2025 | $3,183,371 |
FAQ
Who can apply for this grant?
State, local, and tribal government agencies, law enforcement, research institutions, and other units of local government can apply. Both criminal justice agencies and research organizations examining justice system responses are eligible.
What types of research are supported?
Studies examining court operations, detention, law enforcement apprehension, fraud investigation, drug and human trafficking enforcement, and interagency cooperation models. Applied research and rigorous evaluations of innovative strategies are prioritized.
When is the deadline?
The deadline is November 16, 2026. This is a fixed deadline, not rolling acceptance.
What makes an application competitive?
Strong applications demonstrate innovative local strategies, rigorous evaluation methodology, potential to inform other jurisdictions, and practical solutions based on data analysis.
What is the funding range?
Awards are available from the $3,000,000 total funding pool. Specific award amounts are not set, so proposals should justify their budget based on research scope.
💡 Tips for applicants
- Focus on practical, data-driven solutions applicable to multiple jurisdictions beyond your own location.
- Clearly explain how your research addresses gaps in understanding criminal justice responses to illegal immigration at local and state levels.
- Include partnerships with federal, state, local, or tribal agencies to demonstrate interagency cooperation and strengthen competitiveness.
- Design rigorous evaluation methodologies with clear metrics for measuring effectiveness and innovation of strategies.
- Start early and gather preliminary data or evidence about the challenge you're addressing to make your application stand out.
⚠️ Common mistakes
Proposals lacking rigorous evaluation design or failing to demonstrate how findings apply beyond a single jurisdiction. Applications without clear partnerships between criminal justice agencies and research teams. Weak problem statements that don't adequately define justice system challenges related to illegal immigration in the target area.
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