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By a 3-2 vote, the Operation Stonegarden funding, also used to cover overtime, equipment and mileage costs, was approved by Democrat Sharon Bronson and Republicans Ally Miller and Steve Christy. Voting against the funds were Democrats Richard Elías and Ramón Valadez.

The county has been accepting Stonegarden grants for the past 12 years and has received roughly $16 million in funding. However, last fall, fueled by community outrage over new federal border policies and family separations, the Pima County Board of Supervisors voted to reject the funds.

At the time, the department had already spent roughly $637,000 of the $1.19 million it was awarded, and the remaining $793,000 was reallocated to other law enforcement agencies, many of which function inside Pima County, according to a memo from Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry.

Pima County Sheriff Mark Napier applied for this year's round of grant funding, which will also be used to purchase license plate readers to be mounted on patrol vehicles, constantly collecting information. 

Ahead of Tuesday's vote, Pima County Administrator Chuck Huckelberry encouraged approval of the funds, which contain a new provision to provide humanitarian aid to arriving migrant families. 

The county also said it would apply for Stonegarden grant for Unaccompanied Children and Families on the Southwest Border, which would pay for food, water, hygiene products, medicine, supplies, transportation costs and temporary housing for arriving migrants.

The two Stonegarden grants had to be accepted together, but the board has to request the reallocation of funds as a separate measure, Huckelberry said. State and federal agencies will also have to provide approval to reallocate the money.

Some community activists have raised red flags over the acceptance of Stonegarden funding, saying the collaboration with Border Patrol makes residents hesitate to call the Sheriff's Department when they are victims or witnesses in crimes, fearing deportation or incarceration.