It’s Just Business: We uncovered local companies doing work for CBP

The summer’s been broiling. ICE performed its long-promised mass raids in American cities over the weekend. Eighteen people were arrested protesting outside the Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls (charges have since been dropped). US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the agency primarily responsible for border control has come under fire for the deaths of migrants in their care, offensive Facebook groups and the condition of their detention facilities.

Last week, Motif investigated whether any RI companies do business with CBP. We uncovered a total of four companies that have had contracts with the agency since 2010. It should be stressed that our digging found little if anything to suggest these vendors have anything to do directly with migrants or the detention centers. Most make money from CBP by maintaining facilities across the country, whether it’s in Maine, Virginia, North Dakota or even San Ysidro. Services include housekeeping, grounds keeping, pest control and repair/maintaining air circulation and air conditioning systems.

National Gate and Glass Service of Lincoln has made $16 million in contracts since 2012 doing this kind of work. Of all of the local contractors, only they have contracts closest to the US-Mexico border in San Ysidro. Other companies engaged in facilities management include Brown Point Facility Management Solutions of Lincoln, and Global Maintenance LLC located in Cumberland. K9 Instinct of Portsmouth, a dog training and kennel company, sells canines to CBP, and as of Nov 2018 sent 10 detector canines to their El Paso canine headquarters.

Motif reached out to some of these companies, and all were unavailable for comment. While our state seems far and away from this type of national news, you don’t need to be at the border or handle migrants to make money off the people who do.