BJA FY 23 State Criminal Alien Assistance Program

The Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA) is administering the State Criminal Alien Assistance Program (SCAAP) to provide payments to states and units of local government that incur certain costs due to the incarceration of undocumented criminal aliens. The program is open to state governments, county governments, and city or township governments. 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 and who were incarcerated under the legal authority of the applicant government for at least 4 consecutive days during the reporting period. • The program requires applicant governments to provide information about individuals they incarcerated for at least 4 consecutive days during the reporting period and whom they either know were undocumented criminal aliens or reasonably and in good faith believe were undocumented criminal aliens. • Applicant governments must also provide information pertinent to their average costs of incarceration during the reporting period. • 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. • The program aims to promote civil rights and racial equity, increase access to justice, support crime victims and individuals impacted by the justice system, strengthen community safety, and protect the public from crime and evolving threats.