(5) The United States shares 5,525 miles of 
border with Canada and 1,989 miles with Mexico. 
Many of the local law enforcement agencies located 
along the border are small, rural departments 
charged with patrolling large areas of land. Counties 
along the Southwest United States-Mexico border 
are some of the poorest in the country and lack the 
financial resources to cover the additional costs asso-
ciated with border security, narcoterrorism, and 
other border-related crimes. 
(6) Federal assistance is required to help local 
law enforcement operating along the border address 
the unique challenges that arise as a result of their 
proximity to an international border and the lack of 
overall border security in the region. 
SEC. 103. BORDER RELIEF GRANT PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—From amounts made available 
under section 104, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
may make border security grants to— 
(1) sheriffs’ offices of counties any part of 
which is within 25 miles of the southern border of 
the United States; and 
(2) police departments serving a city, town, or 
other political subdivision in a county any part of 
which is within 25 miles of the southern border of 
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the United States (including tribal police depart-
ments serving a community any part of which is 
within 25 miles of such border). 
(b) USE OF FUNDS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Grant funds received under 
subsection (a) may be used for the following activi-
ties: 
(A) To conduct law enforcement operations 
to enforce criminal laws, prevent and punish 
criminal activity, and protect the lives, prop-
erty, and security of the people within the juris-
diction of the grant recipient. 
(B) To transfer to appropriate Federal law 
enforcement officials aliens unlawfully present 
in the United States who detained or in the 
custody of the grant recipient. 
(C) To enforce State and Federal laws re-
lating to securing the border and enforce other 
State and Federal criminal laws. 
(2) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—Use of funds under 
paragraph (1) shall include payment for costs of— 
(A) hiring, equipping, training, and other-
wise controlling the operations and deployment 
of law enforcement officials engaged in duties 
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described in paragraph (1), as well as the costs 
of paying overtime to such officials; and 
(B) detaining, housing, and transporting 
aliens who are unlawfully present in the United 
States and who are taken into custody by the 
grant recipient, until such aliens are transferred 
to appropriate Federal law enforcement offi-
cials. 
(3) DETENTION
FACILITIES.—In accordance 
with paragraph (2)(B), grant funds received under 
subsection (a) may be used for the construction, 
maintenance, and operation of detention facilities to 
detain aliens who are unlawfully present in the 
United States, except that not more than 20 percent 
of such funds may be used for the construction or 
renovation of detention or similar facilities. 
(c) APPLICATION.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Each eligible law enforce-
ment agency seeking a grant under this section shall 
submit to the Secretary of Homeland Security an 
application at such time, in such manner, and ac-
companied by such information as the Secretary may 
require. 
(2) CONTENTS.—Each application submitted 
pursuant to paragraph (1) shall— 
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(A) describe the activities for which assist-
ance under this section is sought; and 
(B) provide such additional assurances as 
the Secretary of Homeland Security determines 
to be essential to ensure compliance with the re-
quirements of this section. 
SEC. 104. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary of Homeland Security to carry out this title 
$150,000,000 for fiscal year 2010 and each succeeding 
fiscal year. 
SEC. 105. ENFORCEMENT OF FEDERAL IMMIGRATION LAW. 
Nothing in this title shall be construed to authorize 
State or local law enforcement agencies or their officers 
to exercise Federal immigration law enforcement author-
ity. 
SEC. 106. REGULATIONS. 
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enact-
ment of this title, the Secretary of Homeland Security 
shall issue regulations to carry out this title. 
TITLE II—SOUTHWEST BORDER 
VIOLENCE REDUCTION 
SEC. 201. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southwest Border Vio-
lence Reduction Act of 2009’’. 
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SEC. 202. PROJECT GUNRUNNER. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall dedi-
cate and expand the resources provided for the Project 
Gunrunner initiative of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, 
Firearms, and Explosives to identify, investigate, and 
prosecute individuals involved in the trafficking of fire-
arms across the international border between the United 
States and Mexico. 
(b) ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out this section, the At-
torney General shall— 
(1) assign additional agents of the Bureau of 
Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives to the 
area of the United States adjacent to the inter-
national border between the United States and Mex-
ico to support the expansion of Project Gunrunner 
teams; 
(2) establish not fewer than 1 Project Gun-
runner team in each State along the international 
border between the United States and Mexico; and 
(3) coordinate with the heads of other relevant 
Federal law enforcement agencies and State and 
local law enforcement agencies to address firearms 
trafficking in a comprehensive manner. 
(c) ADDITIONAL STAFF.—The Attorney General may 
hire Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explo-
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