Sponsors
The bill provides targeted, timely federal grants to small businesses harmed by federal immigration enforcement but does so by adding federal spending and carving eligibility and application requirements that will leave some affected businesses out, raise privacy and equity concerns, and may undercompensate larger losses.
Small, independently owned businesses harmed by federal immigration enforcement can receive direct grants to reimburse revenue losses, providing substantial financial relief to affected local businesses.
Funds are targeted to smaller, non‑publicly traded firms (≤15 locations), focusing limited aid on independently owned businesses most likely to need support.
The bill clarifies how revenue loss is calculated and verified, reducing applicant uncertainty about required documentation and making the application process more predictable.
The bill creates a new federal appropriation (including a $200 million fund), increasing federal spending that could raise the deficit or require offsets, which affects taxpayers broadly.
Businesses that experienced revenue declines under 25% or cannot adequately document losses will be excluded, leaving some harmed small businesses without assistance.
Eligibility limits tied to specific locations and recent timing of enforcement (e.g., within the last year) may exclude businesses with delayed, lingering, or indirect harms from enforcement actions.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Introduced February 12, 2026 by Edward John Markey · Last progress February 12, 2026
Creates a new $200 million SBA fund to pay grants to small businesses that can document at least a 25% revenue loss caused by a federal immigration enforcement action in their area within the prior year. Grants match the documented enforcement-related revenue loss, are first-come, first-served, and are capped at $500,000 per physical location and $1,000,000 per eligible entity (including affiliates).