WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration is offering nearly $300 million to a handful of cities willing to adopt an aggressive federal policing model that ties crime-fighting money to immigration enforcement, homelessness restrictions and other administration priorities.
The Justice Department’s new Model Cities Initiative will select two to four cities with populations above 100,000 for three-year grants intended to reduce violent crime, expand police staffing and fund programs including addiction treatment and prisoner re-entry. DOJ says applicants must demonstrate broad support across local government and submit proposals by Sept. 1.
But the grant conditions go well beyond traditional policing assistance. According to program documents reviewed by The Guardian, participating cities must cooperate with federal immigration enforcement, enforce prohibitions on public drug use, camping, loitering and squatting, and reject housing-first approaches that do not condition housing on treatment compliance.
Cities could also be required to reimburse the federal government for future law-enforcement interventions following spikes in violent crime or public disorder — a provision former Justice Department official Amy Solomon described as unprecedented.
DOJ explicitly cites Memphis and Washington, D.C., as models. Critics note that the program effectively uses federal money to push municipalities toward Trump’s preferred policing and immigration policies rather than leaving those decisions entirely to local governments. Montgomery, Alabama, rejected applying, while Billings, Montana, voted 9-1 against pursuing the money.
The Justice Department says cities have shown “intense interest” and argues the initiative will replicate public-safety gains achieved through closer federal-local cooperation.
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