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Amidst the extraordinary move, President Donald Trump’s management cancelled a $3.8 billion contract to build an immigration detention camp in Fort Bliss, Texas, days after it was issued.
That doesn’t mean that work isn’t moving forward. Sources told Propovica that the administration is still trying to move forward with plans to build a tent detention camp in Fort Bliss. A site visit for interested contractors took place on Wednesday.
I promise the job will be highly sought as Trump officials plan to pour billions of dollars into building detention facilities as part of their president’s push to deport more immigrants.
It is unclear why the contract was cancelled since it was posted.
According to data posted on the federal procurement website, the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency awarded the contract on April 10th to deploy resources, a private company.
Propublica released the company’s profile on April 11, explaining the promotion of ascension from the facility that operates the music festival, like other vendors, pursuing billions of dollars in detention contracts planned under Trump. The company’s executives discovered by Propublica have hired more than a dozen former government insiders while building their business over the years. Recent recruits included former officials from ICE, an agency tasked with carrying out Trump’s massive deportation promises.
Then, on April 13, the administration reversed the course and ended its contract with resources deployed “for convenience” according to data posted on the federal contracting site.
An ICE spokesman said the award was cancelled after earnings and said, “We have confirmed that Fort Bliss’ revised procurement measures are currently active and ongoing. The agency did not answer questions about why they reversed the course.
The deployed resource has not responded to requests for comment. On its website, the company states that it is “dedicated to providing transparent facility support and logistics services safely and efficiently, anytime, anywhere.”
It is very rare to award and cancel such a large contract in such a short time.
In the solicitation document, the government said there is a need for facilities that are capable of detaining thousands of migrants before being deported.
It is possible that the resources deployed could win the contract following the subsequent bidding round, but it is not yet clear. A bidder interested in the job could probably be split into two pieces.
Since mid-March, it has been run by resources that have detainees deployed at tent facilities in El Paso, Texas, and previously used in US customs border protection. The Department of Defense has awarded resources that deployed contracts to run the site for Ice, an ICE spokesperson told Propublica.
White House proposals may depend on the climate that models the world
Officials from current and former agencies said retaining ice detainees in tent facilities — which in the past has generally held people for a shorter period of time — raises great concern about potential health and safety risks. ICE officials at the recent Border Patrol Council can address such concerns, saying the resources deployed add more stringent structures within the tent.
When Trump returned to office in January, he signed a series of executive orders declaring a state of emergency at the border and registered the military to help enforce immigration. In early April, the administration issued requests for bids for new detention facilities across the country, worth up to $45 billion.
The rush of immigration contracts comes when the Trump administration guils federal programs and fires thousands of workers on the other wings of the government.
Joel Jacobs provided data analysis.
