BJA FY 23 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

OJP is committed to advancing work that promotes civil rights and racial equity, increases access to justice, supports crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthens community safety and protects the public from crime and evolving threats, and builds trust between law enforcement and the community.

OJP's Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) administers SCAAP. Under SCAAP, OJP is statutorily required to make payments to "states" and "units of local government" that incur certain types of costs due to the "incarceration" of "undocumented criminal aliens" during a specific 12-month reporting period. See below for a detailed discussion of eligibility and definitions, including the definitions of "state," "unit of local government," incarceration," and "undocumented criminal aliens" for purposes of SCAAP.

Under the FY 2023 program, payments will be made in connection with "undocumented criminal aliens" who had been convicted of at least one felony or two misdemeanors (typically for violations of state or local law) and who were "incarcerated" under the legal authority of the applicant government for at least 4 consecutive days during the "reporting period." (Additional details are set out in later sections of this document.)

As part of its application, each applicant government provides particular information about individuals it "incarcerated" — under its own legal authority — for at least 4 consecutive days during the "reporting period" and whom the applicant government either (1) knows were "undocumented criminal aliens" or (2) reasonably and in good faith believes were "undocumented criminal aliens." (Note: OJP transmits the data submitted on such individuals to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for a detailed review.) As part of its application, each applicant government also must provide information pertinent to its average costs of incarceration during the "reporting period."

Broadly speaking, SCAAP payments are calculated from information provided by applicant governments in online applications, information provided to OJP by DHS regarding the DHS review of data on "eligible inmates," and the amount of appropriated funds available for the SCAAP application cycle (e.g., for the FY 2023 program). Detailed information on payment calculations can be found in Appendix D: SCAAP Payment Calculations - General Overview. All information submitted as part of an application is subject to appropriate review by OJP.