U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged close to 2 million migrant encounters in 2021. This year, that number is expected to climb to 2.3 million. The Biden Administration’s elimination of Title 42 only adds fuel to the fire; agents are unprepared, resources are limited.
And the Administration is reportedly mismanaging the resources they do have.
According to the Daily Wire, “Amid a migrant surge in March 2021 and the anticipation of more to come, [ICE] entered into a $86.9 million contract with the nonprofit Endeavors for a six-month period. The money was for 1,239 beds and other hotel services in Texas and Arizona.”
But a new report from the Inspector General, entitled ICE Spent Funds on Unused Beds, Missed COVID-19 Protocols and Detention Standards while Housing Migrant Families in Hotels, exposes a myriad of problems with the ICE-Endeavors contract.
Unused beds, wasted funds, lax COVID protocols, and more.
“ICE did not adequately justify the need for the sole source contract to house migrant families and spent approximately $17 million for hotel space and services at six hotels that went largely unused between April and June 2021,” the inspector general report found. “ICE’s sole source contract with Endeavors resulted in millions of dollars spent on unused hotel space.”
“As opposed to following the government’s competitive procurement process, ICE awarded the nonprofit with a sole contract after receiving an unsolicited proposal,” DW reports. “Under the Federal Acquisition Regulation, government contracts are required to be awarded through an open competitive process.”
Ignoring the government’s competitive procurement process —and the sage advice of the legendary Smokey Robinson —ICE didn’t exactly shop around.
“Based on our analysis of ICE’s justification for sole sourcing the contract to Endeavors, we determined ICE did not have supporting documentation to establish that Endeavors was the only contractor that could provide the services needed,” the report states. “ICE records showed that Endeavors had no experience providing the services covered by the sole source contract, including hotel beds or all-inclusive emergency family residential services.”
In addition to not tracking down the best price, ICE also failed to get what they paid for. Of the $17 million handed over to Endeavors for 1,239 beds and other hotel services in Texas and Arizona, $16.98 million was wasted on unused beds. “There was an average usage of only 21% from April to June 2021 — and 45% at a Phoenix hotel,” DW reports.
Additionally, and to no one’s surprise, migrants weren’t adequately screened for COVID, according to the Inspector General’s report.
“For example, families were not tested by ICE for COVID-19 prior to being transported to hotels and were not always tested by Endeavors staff upon arrival at or departure from hotels, putting migrant families and the outside population at risk of contracting COVID-19,” according to DHS.
The Drill Down previously reported that DHS is getting ready to lower security at the southern border in anticipation of the migrant influx. We can expect more reports like these in the future.
