JA-25-0106 - 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

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J&A-25-0106

Pursuant to the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (CICA) as implemented by the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) in accordance with the requirements of FAR 6.303-1. The justification for the use of the statutory authority under FAR Subpart 6.3 is based on the following facts and rationale required under FAR 6.303-2 as follows:

1. Agency and Contracting Activity.

The Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Acquisition Management (OAQ), proposes to modify an existing 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) Type of action: Contract modification to the indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract 70CDCR23D00000001

(b) Amount of the current J&A: ceiling increase

(c) Brief Description: OAQ intends to procure, on a sole source basis, armed transportation services for the Boston, MA (BOS) Area of Operations (AOR) from the following company:

Paragon Professional Services, LLC 3301 C Street, Suite 400 Anchorage, AK 99503

3. Description of Supplies/Services.

This requirement is to incorporate and provide support for transportation services in the BOS AOR at the master IDIQ level at an estimated total cost of . These services are required to provide armed guard transportation services required to transport detainees securely to locations in accordance with Performance Based National Detention Standards (PBNDS) 2011 w/2016 revisions and all state and federal laws and regulations. This acquisition is mission critical and will be in addition to the transportation services already provided for the Baltimore, MD (BAL), New York City, NY (NYC), and Newark, NJ (NEW) Areas of Responsibility (AORs). The contractor shall provide all management, supervision, labor, and materials necessary to perform the services identified in the Performance Work Statement (PWS) through an IDIQ contract for transportation services procured on a hybrid firm-fixed price (FFP)/labor hour (LH) basis. All task orders (TOs) issued under this contract will be FFP/LH and billed in accordance with the fixed rates established in the IDIQ pricing schedule.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304

Page - 3 - of 5 the services, actual transportation milage and usage are not currently tracked as a separate metric for transportation needs. The addition of these services will be going from a fully federally performed service to a majority contractor performed service. The purpose of contracting these services is to allow federal personnel to concentrate on their inherently governmental tasks of law enforcement and to procure outside support for the performance of tasks that are not inherently governmental.

The urgency of this requirement is due to the national emergency declaration via Proclamation 10886, necessitating action to ensure the immediate and secure transportation of detainees in the BOS AOR. The current contract must be modified to increase its scope to meet the expanded operational needs resulting from the emergency. Delays in securing these services would severely compromise the agency's ability to fulfill its mission-critical operations, leading to unacceptable risks to public safety and national security.

The urgency was not the result of poor planning but rather an unforeseen escalation in operational demands due to the national emergency. The Boston AOR does not have existing armed transportation services therefore the transportation of those in ICE custody falls to ICE law enforcement officers. This forces ICE officers to spend their time transporting ICE detainees. ERO has determined that armed transportation services are essential to ensure ICE officers are able to focus on their core mission of making arrests.

Paragon Professional Services, LLC is uniquely qualified to fulfill these requirements due to their existing infrastructure, existing resources including personnel and vehicles, experience providing similar services in the geographic region, and capability to provide the necessary transportation services without interruption. In addition, the contractor’s familiarity and presence in nearby AORs serves to ensure continuity in operations, which is critical in addressing the national emergency.

If the government did not utilize this urgent authority to obtain services imminently, the Government would be seriously injured. Detainee transportation would face an increased bottleneck as operations tempo ramps up in the geographic region. The only reasonable method of procuring these services to meet the demands of the operational increase is through adding the Boston AOR to the IDIQ and increasing the ceiling to account for 1 year of services on an “other than full and open competition” basis. ICE has already had to enlist Paragon Professional Services to conduct two urgent transportation support missions within the AOR at a premium cost due to the emergent nature of the missions. This action will establish longer term / steady state services for the AOR to meet the higher mission tempo.

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

OAQ intends to publicize this requirement, prior to award, as required by subpart 5.2 by posting a notice on sam.gov.

OAQ does not intend to publicize this requirement, prior to the award, based on the following 5.202(a) exception.

JUSTIFICATION FOR OTHER THAN FULL AND OPEN COMPETITION

41 U.S.C. 3304

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7. 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 will be fair and reasonable based on independent pricing analysis from experts within ICE, comparison to prior acquisitions (including task orders issued against this IDIQ), and historical transportation pricing on other contracts throughout ICE purview.

8. Description of market research.

Market research was conducted prior to the award of the initial IDIQ contract, which identified an adequate number of vendors capable of performing these services. However, due to the urgent and compelling nature of the current requirement, ICE is not seeking to issue a new award at this time.

ICE intends on imminently (within the fiscal year) recompeting the existing multi-AOR transportation services IDIQ which will include the services under this justification.

9. Any other facts supporting the use of other than full and open competition.

Not applicable.

10. A listing of the sources, if any that expressed, in writing, an interest in the acquisition.

The government will record all interested parties at the time of the notice of intent to sole source is posted on SAM.gov for the future competitive requirement anticipated in Fiscal Year 2026.

11. A statement of the actions, if any, the agency may take to remove or overcome any barriers to competition before any subsequent acquisition for supplies or services required.

Once this urgent requirement has been placed on contract, the government will begin the process to award the future requirements supported under the current IDIQ contract to a new competitive contract.

After award of this action, DHS intends to post the approved/signed justification pursuant to 6.305.

After award of this action, DHS does not intend to post the approved/signed justification in accordance with 6.305(f).