Trump team to hand out $3B in ‘BIDEN’ grants – for communities that help deport more migrants
The Department of Justice is making $3 billion available in grants to communities that agree to cooperate with federal immigration forces carrying out President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Bridging Immigration-related Deficits Experienced Nationwide (or, BIDEN) Program was established – and spitefully named after former president Joe Biden – in last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill, making the money available for distribution through September 2028.
One of the biggest offerings ever made by the DOJ, according to The Washington Post, the program is intended to bolster immigration enforcement by encouraging greater cooperation between state and federal authorities.
A 21-page introductory document explains that the funding is intended for “locating and apprehending aliens who have committed a crime under federal, state, or local law, in addition to being unlawfully present in the United States.”
Jurisdictions that apply for the money have to agree to “fully participate” in the ICE 287(g) partnership, which brings together local police forces with immigration agents, and with the Homeland Security Task Force.
However, should their applications prove successful, they may spend their grant at their own discretion, so long as it goes towards hiring and training law enforcement personnel, investing in new crimefighting technology such as drones, body cameras and surveillance systems and building new temporary detention centers.
Jurisdictions do not need to prove that they were harmed directly by Biden administration immigration policies in order to qualify, only demonstrate a willingness to support Trump-backed enforcement efforts.
They will, however, be expected to commit to reimbursing “the costs associated with federal law enforcement intervention” should that later become necessary “to reduce crime or public disorder” related to the crackdown.
“This Department of Justice is committed to ensuring Biden-era border disasters never happen again,” Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward said in a statement introducing the program, underlining the highly partisan nature of the offering.
“We are proud to once again champion law and order.”
Former New Jersey attorney general Matthew Platkin, a Democrat, scorned the strategy, telling the Post: “Even the name of the grant itself is a political statement that is holding critical funds hostage to achieve goals they haven’t been able to through legal means.
“It’s a slap in the face to law enforcement.”
The DOJ issued its first call for applications last month and has further funding rounds planned for August and September.
The department says it has already received 181 applications in the first 30 days, according to the Post, which considers that a slow start given the generosity of the offering but says that demand is likely to pick up over the coming months.
Trump was returned to power in November 2024 promising mass deportations, scaremongering during the campaign about “migrant crime” and pet-eating Haitians in Ohio and blaming Biden and Kamala Harris for allowing in “stone-cold killers.”
Immigration and Customs Enforcement was subsequently greatly expanded under the leadership of former Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem and sent into Democrat-run cities such as Los Angeles and Chicago to round-up people suspected of being in the country illegally, inspiring widespread protests and a slew of negative stories about its activities.
However, the deaths of two protesters during Operation Metro Surge in Minneapolis in January forced a rethink, with Noem and Border Patrol chief Greg Bovino removed and border czar Tom Homan placed in overall charge.
Noem was replaced by Oklahoma Republican senator Markwayne Mullin, who has already reportedly been the subject of “growing tensions” with the White House after ordering ICE to pause traffic stops following the deaths of two more people in Maine and Texas.
