NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to…

At a glance

NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration is an open federal grant opportunity from the National Institute of Justice (Department of Justice). Applications are due November 16, 2026. Individual awards are listed as up to $3M, with about 5 awards expected and $3M in total estimated funding. Applicant types listed as eligible include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, public colleges & universities and 8 more. Cost sharing is not required. It is funded under Assistance Listing 16.560 (National Institute of Justice Research, Evaluation, and Development Project Grants).

Summary assembled from the official notice's fields. The official notice governs.

Who can apply

State governments

County governments

City or township governments

Special district governments

Public colleges & universities

Federally recognized tribal governments

Native American tribal organizations

501(c)(3) nonprofits

Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status

Private colleges & universities

For-profit organizations (not small businesses)

Small businesses

Others (see notice)

Additional information on eligibility (from the notice)

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.

Can your organization apply?

A quick check against the listed applicant types — other requirements in the notice still apply.

Based on the published notice. Review the official notice for complete eligibility requirements.

What it funds

Official synopsis as published by the agency, formatted for readability.

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.

Quick answers

When is the deadline for “NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration”?

According to the official notice, applications are due November 16, 2026. Confirm the deadline and submission time on Grants.gov before applying.

Who is eligible to apply for “NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration”?

The official notice names these applicant types as eligible: State governments, County governments, City or township governments, Special district governments, Public colleges & universities, Federally recognized tribal governments, Native American tribal organizations, 501(c)(3) nonprofits, Nonprofits without 501(c)(3) status, Private colleges & universities, For-profit organizations (not small businesses), Small businesses and 1 more. Additional restrictions may apply; review the full notice.

How much funding is available through “NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration”?

Per the notice, individual awards are listed as up to $3m, total estimated program funding is $3,000,000 and the agency expects to make about 5 awards.

How do I apply for “NIJ FY 2026 Research and Evaluation on Justice System Responses to Illegal Immigration”?

Applications are submitted through the official source, not through GrantsJunction. Open the official notice on Grants.gov (opportunity O-NIJ-2026-172800), and review the full announcement and application package. Organizations applying through Grants.gov generally need an active SAM.gov registration and a Grants.gov account, which can take several weeks to set up.

Related open opportunities

Matched on shared Assistance Listings, agency, categories and eligible applicant types.

OpenALN 16.560