1.5.1-JOFOC-Signed-redacted-Redacted.pdf

OFFICE OF ACQUISITION MANAGEMENT

ICE Acquisition Manual 3006.301-90

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304(A)

J&A-26-0008, Rev 1

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 6.103 (FAR Class Deviation 25-110F

1) and in accordance with the requirements of RFO 6.104, the justification for the use of the statutory authority under RFO 6.103 is justified by the following facts and rational required under RFO 6.104-1 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Acquisition Management (OAQ), proposes to enter into a contract on behalf of Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) on a basis of other than full and open competition.

2. Nature and/or description of the action being approved.

(a) Nature of the action: DHS intends to procure comprehensive detention services (housing, guards, meals, medical care, and transportation) on a sole source basis.

(b) Name and address of the contractor:

The GEO Group Inc.

4955 Technology Way Boca Raton, FL 33431

(c) Contract type: Single Award Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract. The task orders will be hybrid firm-fixed-price and labor-hour.

(d) Estimated total value (including options):

Period Time Total

Year 1 12 mos. $79,440,000.00 Year 2 12 mos. $90,160,000.00 Year 3 12 mos. $93,846,540.00 Year 4 12 mos. $95,721,936.00 Year 5 12 mos. $97,923,248.00__

$457,091,724.00

(e) Type of funding: Operations and Support

(f) Year of funding: Multi-Year, 2025-2029

(f) Solicitation number: TBD

(g) Background information: As part of its immigration enforcement mission, ICE ERO maintains a network of detention facilities throughout the United States to house aliens placed in removal proceedings and for those awaiting removal from the United States. ICE strives to maintain

1 In this document, citations to RFO Part 6 are citations specifically to FAR Class Deviation 25-11, which was issued as part of the Revolutionary FAR Overhaul (RFO), implemented in response to Executive Order 14275, Restoring Common Sense to Federal Procurement, signed April 15, 2025.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304(A) sufficient bedspace to support its own law enforcement activities, including the arrests of aliens with criminal histories from prisons and jails and aliens at-large that pose threats to national security and public safety in the interior of the United States, and to accommodate fluctuating alien referrals from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

ICE’s law enforcement mission requires it arrest and detain aliens unlawfully present in the United States to effectuate their removal. ICE maintains detention capacity in facilities nationwide in a mixture of ICE-owned, privately-owned, and state and local facilities. Each detention facility operates under ICE’s national detention standards and provides all services and resources needed to house aliens pending the outcome of immigration proceedings. ICE increases and decreases detention capacity to ensure sufficient beds are available to accommodate shifting migration patterns and to support enforcement priorities as dictated by the administration and DHS leadership.

Description of Supplies/Services.

ICE needs to increase bed capacity to meet the administration’s interior enforcement and border decompression goals. ICE ERO has a requirement for five (5) years of comprehensive detention services within 150 miles of Richmond International Airport. This required geographical area is essential for ERO to accomplish its apprehension and detention, and removal mission in the most cost efficient and timely manner. The facility must have a capacity of up to 1,500 detainees, while also providing guards, meals, medical care, and transportation services. It must also be fully operational within a reasonable time of the contract award date. These services are required to support ERO’s mission to safely detain illegal aliens while they await trial or deportation.

Identification of statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition.

The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 41 U.S.C. §3304(a)(1) as implemented by:

RFO 6.103-1: Only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements.

Identification of Exception to the Buy American Statute.

Not applicable.

Demonstration that the nature of the acquisition requires use of the authority cited.

ICE has a requirement for additional detention beds supporting detention and removal operations not only nationwide but specifically in regions of the country that were previously not utilized to fulfill detention requirements. More specifically, this contract requires a turnkey facility within 150 miles of Richmond International Airport to accomplish detention and transportation services throughout the Washington Field Office (WASFO) AOR. With expanding operations in the WASFO and the loss of several under-72-hour facilities, the impact of not receiving this product or service would greatly reduce the available physical space to house detainees, thus limiting detention and removal operations. Without the addition of transportation services, this places an undue burden on ICE ERO Deportation Officers, who would have to transport detainees to and from field offices and facilities, preventing them from focusing on their primary duties of detention and removal operations.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304(A)

Market research as described in section 9 below determined that there was only one responsible facility readily available to provide the services that will satisfy ICE’s minimum requirements. The Rivers Correctional Facility, owned and operated by the GEO Group, is the only responsible source that can currently satisfy ICE requirements. Rivers is an existing facility within the required geographical area with an efficient surface commute time in relation to Richmond International Airport. It can be operational within three months of contract award date. Recent market research, outlined in section 9 below, determined that no other companies can provide a feasible approach for comprehensive detention services within the required geographical area within a reasonable amount of time after contract award.

The impetus for this requirement is that on January 20, 2025, President Trump issued a series of Executive Orders related to border security, including the “Declaration of a National Emergency at, and along, the Southern Border of the United States,” and orders for “Securing Our Borders,” and “Protecting the American People Against Invasion.” These Executive Orders direct DHS to, among other things, take all appropriate actions to detain, to the fullest extent permitted by law, aliens apprehended for violations of immigration law until their successful removal from the United States.

Also, on January 29, 2025, the President signed the Laken Riley Act, Public Law 119-1, into effect requiring ICE to, among other things, detain certain aliens who have been arrested for burglary, theft, larceny, or shoplifting. This law creates a new category of aliens who are considered a public safety risk and would previously not have been detained by ICE. Accordingly, ICE has a requirement to bring approximately 60,000 additional detention beds online to accommodate increased arrests within the interior of the US in furtherance of the executive orders, which would bring ICE’s total bed capacity to nearly 100,000 beds.

7. Description of efforts made to ensure that offers are solicited from as many potential sources as is practicable.

On May 28, 2025, ICE publicly issued a request for information. The government received seven (7) responses. However, only one response was able to meet the requirements in the necessary timeline, indicating that only one responsible source can satisfy the Agency’s requirements. See Section 9 for further details.

8. Determination by the contracting officer that the anticipated cost to the Government will be fair and reasonable.

The contracting officer determines that the anticipated price(s) will be fair and reasonable based on prior prices paid for facilities that match the geographical location and required services as the facility listed above. The program office provided estimated costs for all required services for a five-year period of performance. The contracting officer also reviewed the government estimates against historical pricing for similar detention facilities currently under contract with ICE. A detention services cost statement will be required from the vendor and will be evaluated to determine price reasonableness.

9. Description of market research.

Market research was conducted by posting a request for information to SAM.gov on May 28, 2025.

The request for information requested capability statements from service providers who could deliver comprehensive detention services (housing, guards, meals, medical, and transportation services) for up to 1,500 detainees in the required geographical area. There were seven (7) respondents to the request for information (see Section 11 for list of respondents). Only one respondent, GEO Group,