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AFSC & Coloradans For Immigrant Rights urge Denver to reject contract with company to manage Migrant Center

AFSC and CIRC urge Denver to reject contract with company to manage Migrant Center

TO MANAGE MIGRANT CENTER| GardaWorld would receive a $40 million contract for one year. (Photos/Courtesy of Denver Press)

DENVER CITY COUNCIL WILL CONSIDER GARDAWORLD’S $40 MILLION CONTRACT ON JULY 10TH.

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The American Friendship Service Committee (AFSC) and the Colorado For Immigrats Rights Coalition (CIRC) are urging Denver citizens to support a petition for Denver council members not to contract GardaWorld to manage a migrant center. Denver City Council will consider GardaWorld’s contract on July 10th.

Denver City Council’s Security, Housing, Education, and Homelessness Committee approved a $40 million contract with GardaWorld for the company to manage a migrant center. The migrant center in Denver will have the capacity to receive and accommodate up to 1,000 undocumented immigrants.

Operating conditions

The site to be managed by GardaWorld will include both an acceptance and identification process for immigrants and a medical review of newcomers. According to the contract, immigrants will be provided with two meals (breakfast and dinner) and snacks throughout the day.

GardaWorld will have one employee for every 30 immigrants, and all employees will receive training in diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural awareness. Non-profit organizations will also be allowed to assist immigrants. Jamie Torres, President of the Denver City Council, assures that they will oversee the management of the center.

Funding to cover costs

The council members created the Special Revenue Fund in Response to the Border Crisis to cover the costs of this center. The initial amount for the new fund is just over $18 million, which comes from other local “contingency” projects that have now been canceled or postponed. It is anticipated that the federal government will provide an additional $10 million.

From December 2022 to this month, Denver has spent about $20 million on this aid. If the city continues at this pace, Denver will spend much more than the $40 million contract with GardaWorld in the coming months because “the city does not have the experience to house immigrants,” said Stephanie Adams, Director of Finance for Denver.

Poor references

AFSC and CIRC argue that a different contractor could improve “Denver’s efforts to uphold the human dignity of migrants.” However, these organizations claim that “GardaWorld is not a reliable partner.” “GardaWorld has a terrible track record that includes lack of transparency and falsification of employee training records.”

According to AFSC and CIRC, GardaWorld has been denounced in Canada for detaining migrants and for “numerous human rights violations.” “In the U.S., GardaWorld operates Fort Bliss, a facility for unaccompanied children. The Office of the Inspector General found mismanagement and dangerous conditions at that facility.”

The document continues: “In December 2022, Crisis24, a GardaWorld risk management subsidiary, announced a new partnership with Palantir, a high-tech surveillance company that designs systems to monitor immigrants and carry out immigration raids, deportations, and family separations.”

AFS and CIRC state that “there is no public information about the shelters that GardaWorld claims to manage in Chicago, Florida, and San Antonio. However, the Denver Human Services (DHS) referred to GardaWorld as a reliable company with the ability to operate a migrant center in Denver. Jay Morein, Executive Director of the DHS, informed the members of the City Council that this company had been selected through a bidding process.