I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7456 

To create emergency supplemental grants to local agencies for maintenance 

of operations during periods of increased migration. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 26, 2024 

Mr. GALLEGO introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To create emergency supplemental grants to local agencies 

for maintenance of operations during periods of increased 

migration. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘First Responders 

5 Emergency Assistance Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM. 

7 (a) AUTHORIZATION.—The Secretary of Homeland 

8 Security is authorized to make grants to States, Indian 

9 Tribes, and units of local government for use by law en10 forcement agencies, first responders, and emergency operVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:52 Feb 28, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7456.IH H7456

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1 ation centers to maintain resources that are available to 

2 residents of the jurisdiction during periods of increased 

3 demand for such resources due to an increase in the ar4 rival or presence of aliens entering the United States. 

5 (b) GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION.—In awarding 

6 grants under this section, the Secretary shall award not 

7 less than 25 percent of the funds to applicants located 

8 not more than 100 miles from the southern border of the 

9 United States. 

10 (c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall give priority applicants located 

12 in areas experiencing an increased presence of aliens en13 tering the United States based on data gathered by U.S. 

14 Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and 

15 Customs Enforcement on the number of encounters with 

16 such aliens and the number of such aliens released in that 

17 area. 

18 (d) RULES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security is 

19 authorized to make rules to carry out this section. 

20 (e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘emergency operation center’’ 

22 means a physical or virtual location from which lead23 ers of a jurisdiction or organization coordinate and 

24 provide policy direction related to an emergency, in25 cluding— 


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1 (A) coordinating information and resources 

2 to support resource needs and requests, includ3 ing allocation and tracking; 

4 (B) collecting, analyzing, and sharing in5 formation and 

6 (C) coordinating plans and determining 

7 current and future needs. 

8 (2) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the 

9 meaning given such term in section 232 of title 18, 

10 United States Code. 

11 (3) The term ‘‘first responder’’ includes a fire12 fighter, law enforcement officer, paramedic, emer13 gency medical technician, or other individual (includ14 ing an employee of a legally organized and recog15 nized volunteer organization, whether compensated 

16 or not), who, in the course of his or her professional 

17 duties, responds to fire, medical, hazardous material, 

18 or other similar emergencies and is an employee of 

19 a unit of local government, Indian Tribe or State. 

20 (4) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the meaning 

21 given the term ‘‘employee in fire protection activi22 ties’’ under section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards 

23 Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 

24 (5) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 

25 United States, the District of Columbia, the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:52 Feb 28, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7456.IH H7456

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1 monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Amer2 ican Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Is3 lands. 

4 (6) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means 

5 any city, county, township, town, borough, parish vil6 lage, special district, fire authority, county improve7 ment district, or other general purpose political sub8 division of a State, and includes any entity jointly 

9 created by 2 or more public employers. 

10 (7) The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the meaning 

11 given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter12 mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 

13 5304). 

14 (f) APPROPRIATIONS.—The program authorized by 

15 this Act shall be subject to the availability of appropria16 tions made in advance for such purposes. Not later than 

17 90 days after funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, 

18 the Secretary of Homeland Security shall obligate such 

19 funds for such purposes. 

Æ 


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