Can organizations that oppose ICE enforcement activities receive funding from federal grants in 2025?

1. What the federal grant universe actually allows: program-by-program realities

FEMA’s grant portfolio in 2025 explicitly makes funding available to “certain private non‑profits” and to state, local, tribal and territorial governments, and many Notices of Funding Opportunity (NOFOs) and fact sheets reiterate nonprofit eligibility for specified programs such as the Nonprofit Security Grant Program and other preparedness grants ^{[1] [2] [3]}. At the same time, some DHS/FEMA programs — most notably the Homeland Security Grant Program (HSGP) and the OPSG component — are structured to prioritize or limit eligibility to state, local, tribal and territorial law‑enforcement entities or projects that bolster border security and other National Priority Areas (NPAs), which can narrow who realistically receives those particular pots of money ^{[5] [6] [3]}.

2. Rules, priorities and “strings”: how grant language and NPAs shape outcomes

The FY2025 HSGP NOFO and related guidance set minimum spends on NPAs (including a 10% minimum toward “Supporting Border Crisis Response and Enforcement”) and require Investment Justifications for projects tied to NPAs, meaning funds tied to those NPAs are likely steered toward projects and recipients that align with enforcement priorities — often law enforcement agencies — even if other programs will award nonprofits ^{[6] [3]}. NOFOs also incorporate Executive Orders and federal grant conditions (e.g., procurement and equipment prohibitions), which can influence whether a nonprofit’s mission or policy stance fits the allowable activities under a specific grant stream ^{[2] [3]}.

3. Legal and political brakes on conditioning grants on cooperation with ICE

Efforts by the DHS/Administration to reallocate or condition homeland‑security grants on cooperation with federal immigration enforcement have faced court intervention: in 2025 a federal judge blocked administration efforts to divert grants away from jurisdictions that won’t cooperate with ICE, and separate litigation produced an order halting FEMA’s prior requirement that some security grantees formally collaborate with immigration enforcement ^{[4] [7]}. Those rulings mean federal agencies cannot uniformly apply a blanket rule disqualifying organizations or jurisdictions solely for opposing ICE cooperation without facing judicial scrutiny ^{[4] [7]}.

4. The on‑the‑ground political context that matters for applicants

Congressional funding choices and executive priorities affect the competitive landscape: large new appropriations and enforcement funds have expanded DHS and ICE resources, creating incentives for local agencies and contractors to align with enforcement goals, and advocacy groups warn of an expanding enforcement apparatus and “deportation‑industrial complex” that changes where money flows ^{[8] [9]}. That political momentum can make grants tied to border enforcement or law‑enforcement partnerships more accessible to cooperating agencies, even as nonprofits that oppose ICE remain eligible under other FEMA and federal grant streams ^{[8] [1]}.

5. Bottom line and practical advice one would infer from the record

Formally, nonprofits and community organizations that oppose ICE enforcement are not categorically barred from receiving federal grants in 2025 — FEMA’s grant pages and FY2025 NOFOs show nonprofit eligibility and programmatic diversity, and courts have limited the administration’s ability to condition grants solely on ICE cooperation ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}. Practically, an applicant’s success depends on matching its mission and project to the specific NOFO’s allowable activities and review criteria; groups focusing on services, election security, or soft‑target protection may compete successfully, whereas organizations explicitly positioned against enforcement may be less likely to win awards from enforcement‑focused programs that favor law‑enforcement recipients or border‑security projects ^{[2] [5] [6]}.