ation centers to maintain resources that are available to 
residents of the jurisdiction during periods of increased 
demand for such resources due to an increase in the ar-
rival or presence of aliens entering the United States. 
(b) 
GEOGRAPHIC
DISTRIBUTION.—In 
awarding 
grants under this section, the Secretary shall award not 
less than 25 percent of the funds to applicants located 
not more than 100 miles from the southern border of the 
United States. 
(c) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this sec-
tion, the Secretary shall give priority applicants located 
in areas experiencing an increased presence of aliens en-
tering the United States based on data gathered by U.S. 
Customs and Border Protection and Immigration and 
Customs Enforcement on the number of encounters with 
such aliens and the number of such aliens released in that 
area. 
(d) RULES.—The Secretary of Homeland Security is 
authorized to make rules to carry out this section. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 
(1) The term ‘‘emergency operation center’’ 
means a physical or virtual location from which lead-
ers of a jurisdiction or organization coordinate and 
provide policy direction related to an emergency, in-
cluding— 
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(A) coordinating information and resources 
to support resource needs and requests, includ-
ing allocation and tracking; 
(B) collecting, analyzing, and sharing in-
formation and 
(C) coordinating plans and determining 
current and future needs. 
(2) The term ‘‘law enforcement officer’’ has the 
meaning given such term in section 232 of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(3) The term ‘‘first responder’’ includes a fire-
fighter, law enforcement officer, paramedic, emer-
gency medical technician, or other individual (includ-
ing an employee of a legally organized and recog-
nized volunteer organization, whether compensated 
or not), who, in the course of his or her professional 
duties, responds to fire, medical, hazardous material, 
or other similar emergencies and is an employee of 
a unit of local government, Indian Tribe or State. 
(4) The term ‘‘firefighter’’ has the meaning 
given the term ‘‘employee in fire protection activi-
ties’’ under section 3 of the Fair Labor Standards 
Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. 203). 
(5) The term ‘‘State’’ means any State of the 
United States, the District of Columbia, the Com-
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monwealth of Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Amer-
ican Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Is-
lands. 
(6) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means 
any city, county, township, town, borough, parish vil-
lage, special district, fire authority, county improve-
ment district, or other general purpose political sub-
division of a State, and includes any entity jointly 
created by 2 or more public employers. 
(7) The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ has the meaning 
given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-Deter-
mination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 
5304). 
(f) APPROPRIATIONS.—The program authorized by 
this Act shall be subject to the availability of appropria-
tions made in advance for such purposes. Not later than 
90 days after funds are appropriated to carry out this Act, 
the Secretary of Homeland Security shall obligate such 
funds for such purposes. 
Æ 
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