Federal security grants now require cities to cooperate with ICE or lose funding

What it does

This bill amends the Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI) grant program to require cities and states receiving federal homeland security funding to allocate at least 30% of grants to five priority areas, including a mandatory minimum of 10% for immigration enforcement activities in cooperation with ICE and 3% for election security. Cities must participate in ICE's 287(g) program, honor ICE detainers, train officers in immigration law, share data with ICE, and deploy technology and staff for immigration screening—or lose grant eligibility, face funding holds, or be debarred from future grants.

Why we flagged it

The bill's operative mechanism is not a new grant program but a conditional requirement: cities must allocate 10% of existing UASI security funding to ICE cooperation or lose eligibility. This is a federal mandate disguised as a funding priority, using grant conditionality as enforcement leverage.

What the text implies

• Cities that have adopted sanctuary policies or declined 287(g) participation face loss of federal security funding, creating pressure to reverse local immigration enforcement decisions through financial coercion rather than legislative change.
• The 10% minimum allocation to ICE cooperation may reduce funding available for terrorism preparedness, cybersecurity, or soft-target protection in high-risk urban areas, potentially degrading the original UASI mission.
• The requirement to 'comply with all applicable DHS terms, including prohibitions on benefitting or incentivizing illegal immigration' is vague and may be interpreted to restrict sanctuary policies or other local protections, creating legal uncertainty.
• Election security funding (3% minimum) is bundled with immigration enforcement in the same statute, potentially creating political pressure to deprioritize election security if cities resist immigration cooperation.

Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.

Who it affects

Cities lose discretion over how to spend federal security grants and face funding penalties if they decline ICE cooperation, diverting resources from terrorism preparedness and other local threats to immigration enforcement. Citizens in sanctuary jurisdictions or those prioritizing other security needs bear the cost of a federal mandate that ties grant access to immigration cooperation, reducing local control and potentially redirecting funds away from community-identified threats.

Who stands to gain

• U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (expanded operational capacity and local cooperation)
• Technology vendors providing immigration screening and detection systems
• Law enforcement training contractors specializing in immigration law

Named in the bill

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Urban Areas Security Initiative (UASI), Homeland Security Grant Program, Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, State and local law enforcement agencies, Fusion Centers

Where it stands

1 cosponsor: 1 Republicans.

• Feb 25, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in Senate”
• Feb 25, 2026 — Referred to Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs · Congress.gov: “Read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs”

Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.