National Institute of Justice · United States

NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration

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National Institute of Justice expects to make 5 awards of up to $3 million each, from a total budget of $3 million. Applications close on 16 Nov 2026. Eligible applicant types include for profit organizations other than small businesses, public and State controlled institutions of higher education, special district governments and 10 more.

Deadline: 16 Nov 2026 (in 1 day)
Grant amount: Up to $3 million per project
Funding rate: No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated
Total budget: $3 million
Expected awards: 5
Cost sharing: Not required
Likely applicant types: SMEs / start-ups, Companies, Universities & research, Public bodies, Non-profits From source categories or programme rules; the call decides.
Funder: National Institute of Justice
Reference: O-NIJ-2026-172800
Assistance listing: 16.560 National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants
Last checked: 13 Nov 2026

Open the official call ↗ Add deadline to calendar

About this call

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.

Who can apply

For profit organizations other than small businesses
Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
Special district governments
Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized tribal governments)
Private institutions of higher education
Small businesses
Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
State governments
County governments
Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
Native American tribal governments (Federally recognized)
City or township governments
Others (see text field entitled "Additional Information on Eligibility" for clarification)

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.

Applicant categories are a starting point. The official call decides eligibility.

Topics

Science and Technology and other Research and Development

How to apply

Read the full notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) linked from the official page: eligibility, cost sharing and evaluation criteria.
Make sure your organisation has an active SAM.gov registration and Unique Entity ID (UEI); registration can take several weeks.
Register with Grants.gov and set up a Workspace for this opportunity, with the right roles for your organisation.
Prepare the required forms, narrative, budget and attachments exactly as the NOFO specifies.
Submit before the deadline and keep the tracking number. Check for amendments before you submit.

From the call text

Who can apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Company stage: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Single applicant or consortium: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where applicants must be based: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page
Where to apply: Not stated in the call text we hold — check the official page

Contact

National Institute of Justice · OJP.ResponseCenter@usdoj.gov · 202-616-5314

Where these facts come from

Fact	Value	How we know	Taken from the source
Deadline	16 November 2026	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Amount per applicant	Up to $3 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Total budget	$3 million	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Funding rate	No mandatory cost sharing stated; funding percentage not stated	read from the official text	15 Nov 2026
Who can apply	For profit organizations other than small businesses; Public and State controlled institutions of higher education; Special district governments; Native American tribal organizations (other than Federally recognized…	official data field	15 Nov 2026
Where to apply	Unknown — not stated in the source we hold	unknown	—

Official sources

Official call page · Funder's programme page

Facts on this page come from the funder’s official data, taken on 13 Nov 2026. The funder's own documents, including later amendments, always take precedence.