The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is calling for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to improve oversight of its transportation services contracts.
ICE enforces the United States’ immigration laws and manages the safe and secure transportation of apprehended noncitizens for removal. From October 2019 through April 2022, ICE obligated $799 million across 13 contracts for the transportation of noncitizens.
But OIG’s audit found that ICE did not fully comply with Federal and departmental guidance for monitoring and overseeing transportation contracts. Specifically, OIG said ICE “did not always appoint contracting officer’s representatives (COR) according to policy”. Also, ICE “did not consistently use quality assurance surveillance plans to monitor contractor performance”. Lastly, OIG found that ICE “did not adequately review invoices to ensure expenses were correct, supported, and reasonable, resulting in $408,875 in erroneous or unsupported payments and $900,144 that could have been put to better use”.
OIG said these failings occurred because ICE contracting staff do not have a consistent understanding of COR appointment requirements, nor does ICE have guidance on how to implement existing Federal and Department policies on COR appointments and methods of quality assurance. Also, the audit found that CORs have multiple competing responsibilities that could have impacted their ability to conduct quality assurance and accurately review invoices.
OIG made seven recommendations to improve ICE’s oversight of its transportation services contracts, including that the agency appoints appropriately certified CORs to oversee high-risk transportation services contracts. ICE concurred and expects to complete work to meet all of the recommendations by July 2024, with many of the recommendations implemented by as early as April 2024.
