Native American companies profit from detaining immigrants

established a joint venture with Akal Security, the country’s fifth largest private security services firm.

Named after the Punjabi word for “deathless” (the traditional battle cry of Indian Sikhs), Akal Security was founded and is run by Sikhs.

Akal has a “Homeland Security” division, and observes that “the U.S. government has turned to Akal to provide specialized security services for many of America’s most critical national security facilities and agencies, including the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security.”

In 2008 Akal, apart from its joint ventures with Doyon and other preferential contractors, received $132 million in DHS contracts. Among other DHS security work, Akal serves as an ICE surrogate at four ICE detention centers: El Paso, Krome, Florence, Arizona, and El Centro, California. As Akal notes, “DHS has turned to Akal to ensure the quality of critical contract detention services.”

,The new ICE contracts at the El Paso and Krome processing centers build on previous Akal contracts with ICE. Prior to its joint venture with Doyon, Akal had paired up with another Native American corporation, DECO Security Services, to operate the El Paso immigrant detention center.

These ICE contracts are set aside for 8(a) companies. By creating joint ventures with such native companies like Doyon, Deco, or Ahtna, larger companies with real capacity can secure contracts that would otherwise be out of reach, since they don’t otherwise qualify as small businesses, minority businesses, or native corporations. With respect to the Krome contract, the security company says that “Akal and Doyon operate under an approved mentor-protégé agreement, so with Akal as the incumbent, the effort was ideally positioned.”

Describing the joint venture’s structure, Akal says that Doyon owns 51 percent, and “Doyon will be the principal operator on the site and Akal will provide professional and back-end support.” In other words, like almost all of the Native American or Native Alaskan contracts with DHS, DOD, and the State Department, the non-native business will do the actual work of the contract while the native business provides the preference qualifications.

Immigrant inmates launch hunger strikes against ANC detention centers

Barry writes that another ANC that has taken advantage of preferential government contracts is Ahtna Development Corporation, which describes itself as “A Full-Service Operations and Maintenance Company.”

DHS contracted with the ANC’s subsidiary, Ahtna Technical Services, Inc. (ATSI), which had no experience in correctional services, to provide operational, maintenance, and other support services at four ICE facilities: Buffalo Federal Detention Facility,