NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration
Agency: National Institute of Justice
Assistance Listings: 16.560 -- National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants
Last Updated: October 9, 2026
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.
Eligibility
Eligible applicants
Government
- County governments
- City or township governments
- State governments
- Federally recognized Native American tribal governments
- Special district governments
Education
- Public and state institutions of higher education
- Private institutions of higher education
Nonprofit
- Other Native American tribal organizations
- Nonprofits non-higher education without 501(c)(3)
- Nonprofits non-higher education with 501(c)(3)
Business
- For-profit organizations other than small businesses
- Small businesses
Miscellaneous
- Other
Additional information
Other Units of Local Government: For the purposes of this notice of funding opportunity, other units of local government include towns, boroughs, parishes, villages, or other general purpose political subdivisions of a state.
Grantor contact information
Description
For assistance with the requirements of this funding opportunity, please contact OJP Response Center at Phone: 800-851-3420 or 202-353-5556 (TTY for hearing-impaired callers only) or Email: OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov. Hours of operation are: 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m. ET, Monday–Friday.
OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov
Agency POC
Documents
No documents are currently available.
Link to additional information
Closing: November 16, 2026
Award
$3,000,000
Program Funding
5
Expected awards
$--
Award Minimum
$3,000,000
Award Maximum
Funding opportunity number:
O-NIJ-2026-172800
Cost sharing or matching requirement:
No
Funding instrument type:
Grant
Opportunity Category:
Discretionary
Opportunity Category Explanation:
--
Category of Funding Activity:
Science technology and other research and development
Category Explanation:
--
History
Version:
1
Posted date:
October 9, 2026
Archive date:
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