Looking to speed up building network of migrant detention centers, Trump administration turns to the US Navy

By Natasha Bertrand, Priscilla Alvarez, CNN

(CNN) — The Department of Homeland Security is funneling $10 billion through the Navy to help facilitate the construction of a sprawling network of migrant detention centers across the US in an arrangement aimed at getting the centers built faster, according to sources and federal contracting documents.

Construction on some of the facilities is set to begin as soon as next month, one of the sources familiar with the project told CNN.

It’s the latest example of the Trump administration leveraging the US military to support its immigration enforcement efforts, stemming from the White House’s desire to dramatically ramp up nationwide immigration operations and arrest a record number of migrants.

The contracting program, which has not been previously reported, is a joint effort between DHS and the Defense Department and leans on the Navy’s Supply Systems Command as a contracting arm to hire companies for construction and maintenance of the detention facilities.

The new detention centers are likely to be primarily soft-sided tents and may or may not be built on existing Navy installations, according to the sources familiar with the initiative. DHS has often leaned on soft-sided facilities to manage influxes of migrants.

One of the sources said the goal is for the facilities to house as many as 10,000 people each, and are expected to be built in Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Utah and Kansas. Additional details about the facilities remain unclear, as the contracting process is still ongoing.

An uptick in immigration arrests has required more detention space to hold people for processing and potentially deportation. ICE, which also uses local jails to hold people, was previously funded for around 41,000 beds to temporarily house detainees. White House border czar Tom Homan has said he wants to double that number of detention beds—and fast.

For that reason, Homeland Security officials have been trying to find ways to quickly secure contracts, which can often be delayed by federal competition rules. DHS has been “bouncing around from one contract vehicle to another,” one source said, as challenges and delays in contracts have previously created headaches for the department.

In July, ICE secured $45 billion worth of additional funding from Congress to build new detention facilities. One such facility was built at Fort Bliss Army base in Texas and reportedly violated dozens of federal detention standards.

The latest contract approach, through the Defense Department, is expected to narrow the pool of eligible contractors and accelerate the contracting process, sources told CNN.

The Navy solicitation listed on a federal contracting site provides a preview of what will be expected of contractors. For example, they will be expected to build a range of structures within the detention facilities themselves, including courtrooms and administrative and support space for ICE staff, according to the documents reviewed by CNN. And they will be required to ensure ready access to emergency services and airport transfers, the documents say, highlighting ICE’s varied needs as it works to carry out Trump’s mass deportation agenda.

The Navy and DHS did not return requests for comment.

“It’s not surprising they would do this, especially for this type of quick turnaround construction,” said Todd Harrison, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who focuses on defense spending.
“The military is good at logistics, and they’ve had to do quick turn construction projects like this overseas. You’re already dealing with an organization that knows how to do this type of contracting activity, and do it quickly.”

To facilitate the construction, the Navy quietly broadened an existing contracting mechanism in July to “add a new geographic region”— the United States and outlying territories.

Previously, the contract solicitation, known as the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract, had been used primarily to support military operations abroad. But in July, it was amended as “WEXMAC 2.1, Territorial Integrity of the United States,” and now notes that contractors “may be required to provide infrastructure, staffing, services, and/or supplies necessary to provide safe and secure confinement for aliens in the administrative custody” of DHS and ICE.

It also stipulates that new contracts will involve Defense Support of Civil Authorities — a process by which US military assets and personnel can be used to support domestic law enforcement missions — and says that contractors “will provide for the secure custody, care, and safekeeping of aliens in accordance with state and local laws, standards, policies, procedures for firearms requirements, or court orders applicable.”

The new solicitation also says that contractors building and staffing the facilities do not have “right of refusal, and shall take all referrals from ICE as applicable.”

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