Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is spending more than $7 million on a fleet of armored vehicles designed to protect occupants detonate the bombs And that can stop a .50 caliber round, according to federal procurement records reviewed Independent,
However, 20 bulletproof personnel carriers were ordered. country’s deportation agency These are not coming from an American manufacturer, but from a Canadian company headquartered in Ontario – the province whose recent anti-tariff TV ad So Donald Trump got angrychairman threatened to impose additional charges On all goods coming from the country.
On Trump’s first day back in office, he announced his “America first trade policyCalling it “a critical component to national security,” he claimed it would reduce America’s “dependence on other countries to meet our major security needs,” and, “above all,” would benefit the country’s workers and businesses.
in a so-called Sole-source justification document Released the day before Thanksgiving, ICE’s Office of Acquisition Management reasoned that Rochelle LLC, headquartered in the Toronto suburb of Brampton, is the only approved vendor “that has sufficient inventory to meet the required delivery schedule and key specifications identified by ICE.”
“Rochelle is uniquely positioned to meet this requirement within the required timeframe, having confirmed the immediate availability of vehicles that fully meet ICE’s specifications,” the lightly redacted document reads. “While other sources were consulted, they had limited quantities available or none could meet the entire requirement, nor satisfy all technical requirements, within the required period of performance.”
Those specifications and requirements required “twenty (20) Rochelle Senator Stangs”. [sic] 4569 Level 2/B7 Emergency Response Tactical Vehicle (ERTV) [sic] According to the document, armored security vehicle.
Rochelle Senator Emergency Response Vehicleor, “ERV”, is certified as providing Level 2 protection under STANAG 4569, which is a NATO designation meaning “standardization agreement 4569,” which means it will protect the equivalent of an 8 kilogram TNT explosion under the vehicle.
The CEN B7 ballistic protection is designed to stop a .50 caliber round, which can penetrate an inch of concrete when fired from a distance of 1,500 meters or 16 football fields away.
The justification document states that ICE is paying $7,234,926.20 in taxpayer funds for the 20 vehicles.
senator erv It is powered by a 6.7 liter V8 engine, 10-speed automatic transmission, and can seat 12. It also has military-grade tyres, a hydraulic breaching ram, perimeter gun ports and escape hatches as well as options such as video surveillance capability, night vision and a “chemical protection system”.
With a “critical need to support agents in the field,” the ICE justification says, “moving forward with Rochelle as the sole source vendor is appropriate and in the best interest of the government, ensuring continuity of operations, mission readiness, and timely deployment of essential assets.”
According to ICE, Rochelle will be able to deliver 20 vehicles within 30 days. The document includes responses from four US-based companies: Alpine Armouring, which told the agency it could deliver only 15 vehicles meeting ICE specifications; CITE Armoured, which said it could deliver 20 vehicles but would need 180 days to do so; DGM LLC, which was able to deliver 20 vehicles but failed to provide any kind of timeline and was not a verified supplier; and Lenco Armored Vehicles, which told ICE it could deliver only three used vehicles in 30 to 60 days.
According to the document, delaying the procurement would significantly impact ICE’s “ability to deploy mission-critical resources in a timely manner.” Additionally, it ensures that purchasing all vehicles from a single vendor “reduces integration risk, ensures configuration uniformity across the fleet, and streamlines maintenance and operator training, which is essential to supporting law enforcement missions.”
The document places Rochelle at a two storey office building In Dover, Delaware, an address associated with various registered agents providing virtual domicile for out-of-town companies. Still, Rochelle has her own corporate stuff. Let potential customers know this ,[a]All processes from R&D to painting are facilitated on-site at its four Ontario plants.
Purchasing by Federal Agencies Generally exempt from tariffs,
Among other things, Craig Holman, government affairs and lobbying expert at the Washington, DC watchdog nonprofit Public Citizen, questioned why ICE would need 20 armored vehicles to carry out its domestic mission.
“There are a lot of things wrong with it,” Holman said. Independent“Who are they trying to protect themselves from? Frightened immigrants, or angry Americans?”
He described the $7.2 million expenditure for just 20 vehicles as “a waste of taxpayers’ money”, especially when it is not earmarked for American business, which appears to contradict all of the administration’s publicly stated intentions.
“This is at the same time that Trump is telling us that Canada is burdening the U.S. economy without giving much in return,” Holman said.
ICE has faced severe criticism Strong strategy against prisonersas well as elected officials, journalistsAnd religious leadersA poll conducted in mid-November by YouGov found that a majority of Americans disapprove of the work being done by ICE, and reported becoming agents burnt out and discouraged As the public’s anger over its work is increasing.
The “Big Beautiful Bill” signed by Trump has been allocated agency 170 billion dollar budget Over the next 10 years, more than most armies in the world.
Prior to any future armored vehicle procurement, ICE says it will “conduct additional market research to identify any new manufacturers or emerging technologies capable of meeting ICE’s armored vehicle requirements,” and “will periodically review industry progress and engage with potential vendors through RFIs or capability inquiries to determine whether comparable products will be available.”
This, according to the sole source rationale, “will help to broaden competition in the future and, where possible, reduce dependence on a single source.”
ICE did not respond to a request for comment Monday.