Lawmakers and religious leaders have stepped up calls for $1 billion (£743 million) of funding to secure places of worship in the United States.
It comes after teenage attackers killed three people at a San Diego Mosque earlier in May, and what authorities described as a “Hezbollah-inspired act of terrorism” at the largest Jewish temple in Michigan in March. After the disruption of church services in response to immigration enforcement in January, there has been debate about the extent of protection given to Christian places of worship.
The Nonprofit Security Grant Program (NSGP) provides funding for measures including installing door locks, security cameras and bollards at churches and other religious sites.
Representative Josh Gottheimer, Democrat from New Jersey, told NPR that he has “religious leaders constantly calling me and saying, 'I'm scared. My parishioners are scared.'
“We are meeting fewer than half of the requests from synagogues and churches and mosques around the country, so we need more resources”, he added.
The near-$275 million (£204 million) NSGP funding in 2025 was delayed because of the Department of Homeland Security shutdown. This financial year’s round is expected to be announced in June.
Applicants had expressed concern that funding may have been reliant on cooperating with immigration enforcement under previous DHS secretary Kristi Noem. New guidance is expected to clarify this, according to NPR.