|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The expansion of the immigrant detention facility in Batavia is gaining momentum. A federal spending database lists four contracts totaling $3 million—two of which include businesses in Western New York.
According to documents released early this month by Rep. Tim Kennedy, a Democrat who represents New York’s 26th Congressional District including Buffalo and Niagara Falls, the expansion is for the construction of a women’s wing. Those documents discussed a $17 million contract with Akima Infrastructure for construction and logistics relating to the planned expansion. Akima, a Virginia-based company, has faced scrutiny for its involvement with the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration enforcement wings, including management of the migrant detention center at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo Bay.
In July, DHS announced the 100-bed “hardsided” expansion of the detention center in Batavia. The facility, the only one of its kind in New York, is where many of the immigrants arrested in President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown in the state are detained.
Currently, the male-only facility can hold 650 people, though its occupancy reached 737 in April. Women arrested during immigration enforcement operations in the past have either been quickly transported out of state or held in local jails as part of DHS agreements with local law enforcement through the agency’s 287(g) program.
Those agreements ended after the Local Cops, Local Crimes Act took effect in August, banning cooperation between local law enforcement and DHS in immigration enforcement operations. That legislation triggered the expansion project, according to a letter to Kennedy from Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.
Confirmation that the hard-sided expansion would be for a women’s wing aligns with concern from immigrant advocates that women will now increasingly be targeted in expanding Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Upstate New York.
Earlier in October, another set of contracts on USAspending.gov, listed awards to TLI Construction Inc., Stark Tech Operating Co., New York State Fence Co. Inc., and Rapid Deployment Inc. The contracts’ start dates range from Sept. 22 to Sept. 30, with end dates ranging from Dec. 31 to April 13, 2027.
Neither DHS nor the companies the agency has contracted with have responded to the Beacon’s requests for comment.
TLI Construction Inc., a California-based company with offices in Yonkers, specializes in federal government construction projects. It was awarded the majority of the money, over $2.5 million, to “procure design build services for LED lighting and occupancy sensor upgrade project in Batavia.”
Though the company has held contracts since 2021 with federal agencies like the Interior and Defense departments, this contract is only its third dealing with ICE. TLI’s first contract with ICE, beginning in 2024, was a $1 million renovation of the administrative area in the Batavia detention facility.
Stark Tech Operating Co., headquartered in the Buffalo area with branches across the Northeast, including in West Henrietta, specializes in installing systems that track a facility’s energy consumption. It was awarded $125,373 for the installation of such a system at the detention facility.
Hilton’s New York State Fence Co. Inc. was awarded $53,175 to construct an “emergency perimeter fence” for the Batavia facility. Though NYS Fence Co. has worked with the Army on several projects, this is its first contract with DHS or ICE, and its second-largest federal government contract to date.
Finally, Rapid Deployment Inc., an Alabama-based company specializing in disaster relief projects, was awarded $10,000 in a contract vehicle “designed to support a broad range of construction-related services for (the Office of Facilities Management) at Batavia,” set to expire at the end of this year.
Though the contract details are limited, its low cost and short timeframe, along with RDI’s past projects, suggest it may be for temporary structures or equipment used while construction is underway.
RDI has mostly worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, another DHS wing, to provide shelter and logistical aid during natural disasters like Hurricane Harvey. In 2020, RDI signed a contract with Health and Human Services, which, following 10 renewals, amounted to $996 million to manage an“emergency intake shelter” for migrant children in Fort Bliss, Texas, during a Biden-era surge in immigrants. The center held at least 2,301 people in September 2021 and faced allegations of mismanagement and unacceptable conditions.
Though Trump administration officials have argued that mass deportations will target criminals, according to Mullin’s letter to Kennedy, only 28% of those currently in detention in Batavia have a prior criminal history.
“Known criminal history is not a prerequisite for immigration enforcement action and never has been,” Mullin wrote. “The American people support the removal of illegal aliens, not just those with known criminal records, to say nothing of the untold number of illegal aliens who commit crimes every day, such as identity theft and fraud, for which they are never arrested or charged.”
David Wazana is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer and a member of the Oasis Project’s second cohort.
The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. See “Leave a Reply” below to discuss on this post. Comments of a general nature may be submitted to the Letters page by emailing [email protected].