Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, 2026
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Would provide FY2026 appropriations for the entire Department of Homeland Security — including $18.1 billion for Customs and Border Protection, $11 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, $10.8 billion for the Coast Guard, $26.5 billion for FEMA's disaster relief fund, and $2.2 billion for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency — funding the full range of border security, immigration enforcement, disaster response, and aviation security operations.
Beyond the spending figures, the bill includes dozens of policy riders that would restrict asylum eligibility for migrants who transited third countries, ban DEI programs and training across DHS, prohibit gender-affirming care for ICE detainees, bar funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, require GPS monitoring for all non-detained aliens, and create a new nonimmigrant visa category for mobile entertainment workers — making this one of the more policy-laden DHS appropriations bills in recent years.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would appropriate FY2026 funds for all major DHS components. Key amounts include $18.1 billion for CBP operations (border security, air and marine support), $11 billion for ICE operations (including $6.4 billion for detention and removal), $10.4 billion for TSA, $10.8 billion for the Coast Guard, $3.1 billion for the Secret Service, $2.2 billion for CISA, $1.5 billion for FEMA operations, $3.8 billion in FEMA federal assistance grants (state homeland security, firefighter, nonprofit security, flood mapping, and emergency management grants), and $26.5 billion for the FEMA disaster relief fund. It also funds USCIS's E-Verify program, the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and the Science and Technology Directorate.
The bill would also establish numerous policy restrictions: it would bar new land-border crossing fees, restrict asylum for migrants transiting third countries without seeking protection there, prohibit DEI programs and Critical Race Theory activities, bar gender-affirming care for ICE detainees, prohibit funds to sanctuary jurisdictions, ban a DHS disinformation governance board, require GPS monitoring for all non-detained aliens, and prohibit the Coast Guard from enforcing whale speed restrictions not in effect before January 20, 2021. It would also create a new P(iv) nonimmigrant visa for traveling carnival and circus workers and extend H-2B cap exemptions for qualifying returning employers.
Key provisions
- 1Would appropriate $18,088,596,000 for CBP operations, including border security, air and marine enforcement, transportation of unaccompanied minors, and up to 7,500 police-type vehicles.
- 2Would appropriate $10,967,045,000 for ICE operations, including $6,402,677,000 specifically for enforcement, detention, and removal operations, and at least $6,000,000 for forced child labor enforcement.
- 3Would appropriate $26,474,000,000 for the FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for major disaster declarations under the Robert T. Stafford Act, designated as disaster relief funding.
- 4Would prohibit DHS from establishing, collecting, or studying any new fee for pedestrians, cyclists, or private vehicle drivers and passengers crossing the southern or northern border at land ports of entry.
- 5Would bar credible-fear determinations and asylum grants for aliens who transited through third countries without applying for protection there, with narrow exceptions for trafficking victims and countries not party to refugee conventions.
- 6Would direct ICE to maintain all funded detention facilities at full capacity throughout the fiscal year and require GPS monitoring for every alien on the non-detained docket through completion of removal proceedings.
- 7Would create a new P(iv) nonimmigrant visa for workers performing functions integral to mobile entertainment providers such as traveling carnivals and circuses, with DHS and DOL required to finalize implementing rules within one year.
Who would be affected
DHS employees and contractors across all component agencies; travelers and cargo crossing U.S. borders; asylum seekers subject to new transit-country restrictions; aliens held in or supervised by ICE; state and local governments and nonprofits receiving FEMA homeland security, firefighter, and security grants; communities relying on the National Flood Insurance Program; local law enforcement agencies partnering with ICE under 287(g); and mobile entertainment workers and their employers seeking P(iv) visas.
Why it matters
Without enacted appropriations, DHS cannot legally fund border security, detention, aviation screening, disaster response, or cybersecurity programs. The bill's policy riders would have direct operational effects: tighter asylum standards could significantly reduce credible-fear determinations; the sanctuary jurisdiction funding ban could affect cities across the country; the mandatory full-capacity detention directive and GPS monitoring requirements could substantially expand ICE's enforcement footprint; and new visa rules for carnival workers would alter a well-used seasonal labor pathway.
What would change
Changes to existing law
Amends Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act, Sec. 203 (42 U.S.C. 5133) (Sec. 312)
Changes pre-disaster mitigation grant authority from permissive to mandatory, ties eligibility to major disaster declarations in the prior 4 (not 7) years, and sets a minimum funding set-aside of 3 percent.
Amends Immigration and Nationality Act, Sec. 101(a)(15)(P) (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(P)) (Sec. 416)
Adds a new clause (iv) creating a P nonimmigrant visa category for aliens performing functions integral to mobile entertainment providers such as traveling carnivals and circuses.
Amends Immigration and Nationality Act, Sec. 214(c)(4) (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(4)) (Sec. 416)
Adds new subparagraph (I) setting program requirements, definitions, and Labor Department oversight rules governing admission under the new P(iv) mobile entertainment visa.
Amends Public Law 108-334, Sec. 515(b) (49 U.S.C. 44945 note) (Sec. 233)
Replaces 'report' with 'briefing' in the subsection heading and text, converting a written reporting requirement to a congressional briefing requirement.
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- New P(iv) visa proposed rules must be published in the Federal Register
- New P(iv) visa final rules must be published
- CBP expenditure plan for procurement funds must be submitted before obligations may begin
- ICE obligation plan must be submitted before funds may be obligated
- All appropriations cover the period ending September 30, 2026
Funding and costs
- $26,474,000,000
FEMA Disaster Relief Fund for major disaster declarations under the Stafford Act
- $18,088,596,000
CBP operations and support, including border security and air and marine enforcement
- $10,967,045,000
ICE operations and support, including detention and removal operations
- $10,802,656,000
Coast Guard operations and support, including reserve and defense-related activities
- $10,378,063,000
TSA operations and support for aviation and transportation security
- $3,756,676,000
FEMA federal assistance grants including state homeland security, urban area security, nonprofit security, firefighter, and flood mapping grants
- $3,103,191,000
Secret Service operations and support including protective functions and missing and exploited children grant
- $2,237,159,000
CISA operations and support for cybersecurity and critical infrastructure protection
- $2,026,790,000
Coast Guard procurement, construction, and improvements including vessels and aircraft
- $1,648,509,000
DHS Management Directorate operations and support
- $1,474,420,000
FEMA operations and support
- $1,249,000,000
Coast Guard retired pay including survivor benefit plans and medical care for retirees
- $501,047,000
CISA procurement, construction, and improvements
- $898,118,000
CBP procurement, construction, and improvements including border security technologies and radiological detection systems
- $720,000,000
Assistance to Firefighter Grants and Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grants
- $615,000,000
Urban Area Security Initiative grants for high-risk metropolitan areas
- $520,000,000
State Homeland Security Grant Program including Operation Stonegarden and Tribal Homeland Security grants
- $385,644,000
Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers operations and support
- $368,624,000
Science and Technology Directorate operations and support
- $360,788,000
Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness operations and support
- $355,000,000
Emergency management performance grants
- $350,074,000
Science and Technology Directorate research and development
- $335,000,000
Nonprofit Security Grant Program for facilities at risk of terrorist or extremist attack
- $312,750,000
Flood Hazard Mapping and Risk Analysis under the National Flood Insurance program
- $223,063,000
DHS Office of Inspector General operations and support
- $202,100,000
National Flood Insurance Fund operations, flood plain management, and flood mapping
- $170,000,000
Community Project Funding grants for emergency operations centers and pre-disaster mitigation
- $112,551,000
USCIS E-Verify Program operations and support
- $105,300,000
Emergency food and shelter program under the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act
- $3,000,000
FEMA reimbursements to state and local agencies for extraordinary law enforcement costs protecting presidential non-governmental properties
- $5,000,000
Transfer to ICE to support Blue Campaign anti-human trafficking operations
How implementation would work
The bill funds 15-plus DHS components through standard annual appropriations, with many accounts requiring expenditure plans or obligation plans before funds may be drawn. The Under Secretary for Management must brief appropriations committees quarterly on all Level 1 and Level 2 acquisition programs and provide advance notice before any new pilot program. The Chief Financial Officer must submit monthly budget and staffing reports. Grants and contracts above defined thresholds require 3-business-day advance notice. The new P(iv) mobile entertainment visa requires DHS and DOL to publish proposed rules within 180 days and finalize them within one year of enactment. Most policy riders are self-executing upon enactment.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 139.
Official CRS summary
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This bill provides FY2026 appropriations for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Specifically, the bill provides appropriations to DHS for Departmental Management, Intelligence, Situational Awareness, and Oversight, including
- the Office of the Secretary and Executive Management;
- the Management Directorate;
- Intelligence, Analysis, and Situational Awareness; and
- the Office of Inspector General.
In addition, the bill provides appropriations for Security, Enforcement, and Investigations, including
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection,
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
- the Transportation Security Administration,
- the U.S. Coast Guard, and
- the U.S. Secret Service.
The bill provides appropriations for Protection, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery, including
- the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and
- the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
The bill provides appropriations for Research, Development, Training, and Services, including
- U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services,
- the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, and
- the Science and Technology Directorate.
The bill also sets forth requirements and restrictions for using funds provided by this and other appropriations acts.
Legislative subjects
Appropriations; Aviation and airports; Border security and unlawful immigration; Building construction; Canada; Coast guard; Computer security and identity theft; Congressional oversight; Customs enforcement; Department of Homeland Security; Disaster relief and insurance; Economics and Public Finance; Emergency communications systems; Emergency planning and evacuation; Employment and training programs; Executive agency funding and structure; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA); Fires; First responders and emergency personnel; Floods and storm protection; Geography and mapping; Government buildings, facilities, and property; Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management; Government information and archives; Government trust funds; Human trafficking; Immigration status and procedures; Infrastructure development; Intellectual property; Intelligence activities, surveillance, classified information; Internet, web applications, social media; Law enforcement administration and funding; Law enforcement officers; Lease and rental services; Motor vehicles; North America; Pollution liability; Prescription drugs; Protection of officials; Public contracts and procurement; Public transit; Radiation; Refugees, asylum, displaced persons; Research administration and funding; Research and development; Smuggling and trafficking; Transportation programs funding; Transportation safety and security; Visas and passports
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-173