Saving the U.S. from the S.A.V.E. Act - part II

In this section of the bill, there is a request for 8,000 additional immigration detention beds -

There is also a recommendation that ICE "contract private facilities" for efficiency and reduced liability.

The request for more detention beds is confusing since it seemed like the U.S. wanted undocumented immigrants to leave the U.S. - but having more detention facilities would keep people here.

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SEC. 304. INCREASED DETENTION FACILITIES FOR ALIENS APPREHENDED FOR ILLEGAL ENTRY.

(a) In General- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall make arrangements for the availability of 8,000 additional beds for detaining aliens taken into custody by immigration officials.

(b) Implementation- Efforts shall be made to--

(1) contract private facilities whenever possible to promote efficient use and to limit the Federal Government's maintenance of and liability for additional infrastructure;

(2) utilize State and local facilities for the provision of additional beds; and

(3) utilize BRAC facilities or active duty facilities.

(c) Construction- The Department of Homeland Security shall construct facilities as necessary to meet the remainder of the 8,000 new beds to be provided.

(d) Family Detention Facility- To further meet the special needs of detained families, the Department of Homeland Security shall retain or construct a family detention facility, similar to the T. Don Hutto Family Residential Facility, offering no less than 500 beds.

(e) Responsibilities- The Secretary of Homeland Security shall be responsible for providing humane conditions, health care and nutrition, psychological services, and education for minors.

(f) Authorization- All funds necessary to accomplish the directives within this section are authorized to be appropriated.

for link to the Thomas Congressional Report click the title of this post

Making Money on Immigration - Fixing ICE's Computers

The computer operator needs help












Another company has snagged a good deal with ICE. Performance Management Consulting of McLean, Virginia will make $25 million for two contracts that will develop a computer infrastructure for ICE. Since this contract is for service to ICE it is ok to approve and spend. Interesting that programs like SCHIP can't pass through Congress, - but ICE gets what it wants.

Will PMC help ICE with its computer problems? Remember the computer breakdown at LAX in August 2007? see "Cold as ICE, Customs Holds 20,000 Passengers Hostage at LAX" in a business travelers blog named Joe Sent Me - August 13, 2007.

Lastly, how many U.S. residents and citizens have been mistakenly deported by ICE because of a computer error? In some ways it is good that ICE is attempting to rectify these problems.

I'm sure the executives of PMC will receive a nice bonus for these contracts. Is this the remittance the U.S. Government sends to its corporations?

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PMC to Do Tech Work for U.S. Customs
By Alice Lipowicz
Special to the Washington Post
Monday, January 7, 2008; D04

Performance Management Consulting of McLean will develop an updated computer infrastructure for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement under two contracts totaling $25 million.

Under the first contract, valued at about $13 million, PMC will build a computer system that services all of the agency's units, said MaryAnn Hoadley, vice president of business development for Aviel Systems, PMC's McLean-based parent company.

The project is part of a modernization of the agency's information technology systems. The program, known as Atlas, includes updates of hardware such as servers, routers and storage devices as well as software for database management, operating systems and network management. It also incorporates initiatives for information sharing, information security and workplace productivity.

PMC has managed the Atlas project under a separate contract since 2005, so taking on additional responsibility for installing the computer systems and equipment was a natural outgrowth of that, Hoadley said.

"We have been supporting the Department of Homeland Security since it was the [Immigration and Naturalization Service]," Hoadley said. "The common computing environment involves integrating the computer infrastructure so that everyone is operating on the same platform."

Under the second contract, valued at about $12 million, PMC will establish and operate a project management office for the engineering division that reports to ICE's chief information officer. The office will be in charge of information technology modernization initiatives, including help with budget tracking and formulation, contracts and acquisition support, scheduling and project tracking.

PMC's employees will do work under the two contracts in several locations throughout the District, Maryland and Northern Virginia, Hoadley said.

PMC was founded in 1997 as a woman-owned small business that focused on management consulting. In 2005, the company was acquired by Optimus Corp., another government contractor. Both firms had mostly federal clients, including the Federal Aviation Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Aviel was formed in January 2006 as a holding company for PMC and Optimus. Most of Aviel's work is in supporting federal information technology systems. Aviel Systems has about 400 employees and revenue of $75 million to $80 million annually, Hoadley said.

Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer with Washington Technology magazine. For more news on government contracts, go tohttp://www.washingtontechnology.com.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/06/AR2008010601781.html

cartoon: http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.pritchettcartoons.com/cartoons/comp-dog.gif&imgrefurl=http://www.pritchettcartoons.com/comp-dog.htm&h=378&w=315&sz=62&hl=en&start=31&sig2=oaBslHrBkDYixQhqRhoWFQ&um=1&tbnid=xYiAQ_TnHuiuxM:&tbnh=122&tbnw=102&ei=9B2CR_yOMJSWgQP0tLiCBw&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcartoon%2Bcomputer%26start%3D20%26ndsp%3D20%26svnum%3D10%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Dactive%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den-us%26sa%3DN

More Money in the Immigration Industrial Complex

Would it be less painful if the ICE agent spoke Spanish?






The company Rosetta Stone is making lots of money in its contracts with the U.S. Military... over 4 million dollars. Now they are adding another $775,000 to help ICE officers learn to speak to detainees.

Well, considering the insults, cursing and other offensive language thrown around by ICE agents during raids, they certainly do need some help learning to speak.

Unfortunately, this defect in their speech is bringing even more money to the immigration industrial complex. This is all making "catch the immigrant" a real money maker.

It sounds like capitalism at its worst.


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Customs Enlists Rosetta to Train Officers' Tongues
by Cecilia Kang
Monday, October 22, 2007; Page D02
Washington Post


Unlike Rosetta Stone's magazine ads, there probably won't be any hardworking farm boys and Italian supermodels connecting at Immigration and Customs Enforcement. But the Arlington company's new three-year contract with the federal agency may help knock down some linguistic barriers faced by the nation's border guards and immigration agents.

The language-learning software provider landed a $775,000 deal with ICE, a division of the Department of Homeland Security, to supply 15,000 agency employees around the county with software discs and online programs offering instruction in 30 languages. Spanish and Arabic are the agency's most pressing language needs for it to carry out missions of immigration and customs investigations, detention and removal operations, intelligence and federal protective services.

...Rosetta Stone, also known for its ubiquitous airport kiosks, has a track record of supplying software to government agencies. Its biggest federal contract is a $4.2 million agreement with the U.S. Army. Under the Army contract, which began in 2005, the firm tailored its language program to military personnel preparing for deployment in Iraq and Afghanistan. Rosetta Stone now has more than 100,000 registered Army users on its online and software CD programs, which focuson words that would be used at checkpoints and warfare terminology like "humvees" and "tanks."

The company said ICE purchased the software instead of hiring language instructors at its various offices because the computer programs give employees flexibility to study at work or home. It's also a lot cheaper than a real teacher.

"Most of us, if we've had to take language in school, we go into a classroom and the most difficult component is speaking, particularly in front of your classmates," said Linda Trude, vice president of institutional sales. "This helps them build confidence and success, and it works."

Shy immigration enforcement agents?



article: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/21/AR2007102101146.html
cartoon: http://www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/images/cartoon_raids.gif

The Immigration Industrial Complex: N. Virginia Benefits from its Harsh Laws

SI International of Reston, Virginia reports that 20% of its revenue comes from contracts with the Department of Homeland Security. Since they $462 million, that means $92 milliion of that comes DHS.

Its interesting that Stanley Inc. (who also received a large contract) "declined to name its partners."

A bit of information on SI International from its web page:

"SI International is a provider of information technology and network solutions (IT) primarily to the federal government. The Company defines, designs, builds, deploys, and operates mission-critical solutions for the Department of Defense and Federal Civilian agencies. SI International delivers solutions quickly - often in a matter of months with a focus on federal IT modernization, homeland security, and space systems modernization."


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2 N.Va. Firms Win Immigration Document Deals
By Nick Wakeman
Special to the Washington Post
Monday, October 1, 2007; D04

The Department of Homeland Security has awarded two contracts worth $225 million each to a pair of Northern Virginia companies for document management at four immigration services centers.

SI International of Reston and Stanley Inc. of Arlington received the three-year contracts from the department's U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency. Each company will support two centers that process visa applications and other immigration petitions.

...The contractors will run mailrooms and provide data entry, fee collection and records management services. They also will be responsible for ensuring that application files contain all the information needed to make a decision on a petition, officials with both companies said.

For SI, the contract is a role reversal. During the past six years, the company has been a subcontractor at the centers with JHM Research and Development of Silver Spring as the prime contractor. JHM won the previous contract through a small business set-aside, but the new contract was awarded through an open competition that allowed any business to bid, said Brad Antle, SI's chief executive.

Under the new award, JHM is on SI's team as a subcontractor. Other team members include Lockheed Martin, Zimmerman Associates, HeiTech Services, iDox Solutions, Unisys and Base One Technologies.

...Being the prime contractor gives SI an opportunity to build a closer relationship with the immigration agency, Antle said. Homeland Security is an important customer for the company, representing up to 20 percent of its revenue, Antle said. In 2006, SI reported $462 million in revenue.

For Stanley, the contract is its first with the immigration agency, said Pat Flannery, vice president of corporate development. "This is a new customer for us so we are very excited," he said.

...Stanley officials declined to name their partners on the contract but estimated that as many as 1,000 people could be working on the project between their two centers.

Nick Wakeman is editor of Washington Technology magazine. For information

on this and other contracts,

go to www.washington

technology.com.

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for complete article click the title of this post