Sponsors (10)
Official title: To establish in the Department of Homeland Security a grant program to reimburse States the costs incurred by such States relating to the detention of migrants at detention facilities in such States, and for other purposes.
Introduced August 22, 2025 by Addison P. McDowell · Last progress August 22, 2025
The bill provides near-term funding and federal coordination to offset local detention costs, but does so by diverting FEMA shelter funds and promoting expanded detention capacity, risking reduced emergency services and increased detention of immigrants.
State and local governments can be reimbursed for detention-related costs incurred on or after Jan 20, 2025, reducing immediate local budget pressure for jurisdictions housing detainees.
The bill redirects existing unobligated FEMA Shelter and Services funds to support the new DHS detention program, providing near-term funding without requiring new appropriations.
Creates a centralized DHS program to coordinate detention logistics, which could speed resource allocation and construction planning for detention-related needs.
Prioritizing construction and coordination of new detention capacity could expand detention space and lead to longer or more widespread detention of immigrants.
Repurposing FEMA Shelter and Services funds reduces resources available for migrant shelter, disaster housing, and other FEMA uses, potentially harming disaster-affected communities.
Identifying and repurposing 'underutilized, wasteful, or redundant' accounts to fund the program could be used to justify cuts to other programs, risking reduced services elsewhere.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Creates a DHS program to reimburse states and localities for migrant detention costs (from Jan 20, 2025) funded by repurposing FEMA unobligated Shelter and Services balances.
Creates a DHS Detention and Logistics Program to reimburse states and localities for costs they incur detaining migrants at local facilities for events on or after January 20, 2025. The program is to be funded by transferring unobligated balances that were previously available to FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program into DHS accounts. Requires applicants (states and local governments) to apply to the Secretary of Homeland Security and directs the Secretary to submit, within 90 days, a plan to coordinate rapid construction of new migrant detention facilities (including identifying federal or state properties suitable) and to identify underused or redundant federal accounts that could be repurposed to fund the new DHS program.