§1716 State Border Security Reinforcement Fund

Summary

Creates a fund at the Department of Homeland Security called the State Border Security Reinforcement Fund. The Department must use the money to give grants to eligible States and local governments for four kinds of work: building or installing barriers (walls, fences, buoys) on the southern border, plus planning and material and staff costs; preparing ground near land borders for such construction; finding and stopping illegal drugs and people who entered unlawfully and who committed crimes, and transferring or referring those people to the Department of Homeland Security under law; and moving people who are unlawfully present from small towns to other places in the United States. For fiscal year 2025, $10,000,000,000 is set aside for the fund, available until September 30, 2034, for qualifying expenses. Grants may pay for completed, ongoing, or new activities that happened on or after January 20, 2021. States must apply with information the Secretary requires, including what they will use the money for and how they will split it. The Secretary must start taking applications not later than 90 days after July 4, 2025. Nothing in the fund lets States or local governments take over immigration or federal border powers. FEMA may use up to 1 percent of the money to run the grant program.