Chicago Mayor Signs $29 Million Deal With Private Security Firm To Create Tent Camps For Migrants

Topline

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed a $29.4 million one-year deal with a private security firm to move about 1,600 migrants that have been living in police stations into tent encampments around the city, according to the Chicago Tribune—getting the city into business with a company that has been at the center of multiple immigration-related controversies.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, addresses a crowd before President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the … [+] economy, June 28, 2023, at the Old Post Office in Chicago. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Key Facts

The contract, which was obtained by the Tribune, specified that the security firm GardaWorld will provide “emergency logistics management and operation services that will set up shelter … and other necessary services for the new arrivals.”

This contract was signed less than a week after Johnson announced plans to house migrants, who had been bussed to the city by Gov. Gregg Abbott (R-Texas) attempting to make a political statement about immigration policy, in tent encampments ahead of the winter.

The contract also reportedly reveals previously unknown details about the tents these migrants would live in, explaining that soft-material “yurt” structures would fit 12 cots each and be outfitted with fire extinguishers and portable restrooms with makeshift kitchens set up nearby.

The company, on its website, says it “operate(s) across four continents” and has “responded to all major U.S. natural disasters, declared emergencies, and military conflicts since 2002.”

Forbes has reached out to the Chicago mayor’s office as well as GardaWorld for comment.

What To Watch For

A lot of details remain unknown about Johnson’s plans including when the camps will be set up and begin operating or where the camps will be located. Additionally, it is unclear whether these tents will have any sort of heaters for Chicago’s harsh winter.

Surprising Fact

GardaWorld has been at the center of a number of controversies in recent years. Earlier this summer, Denver negotiated a $40 million contract with GardaWorld, but Mayor Michael Hancock withdrew from the deal in June after local nonprofit leaders criticized the company, the Denver Post reported. Denver had planned to potentially use the company to take over sheltering operations for migrants in its city, but local leaders cried foul and pointed out that the company has a history of alleged abuses and mistreatment. For example, in September, the Office of the U.S. Inspector General found in 2022 that Fort Bliss near El Paso, Texas, where GardaWorld had been contracted to provide assistance caring for unaccompanied minors who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico border, was providing “inadequate” service and had an “adverse effect on children’s well-being.” In Florida, a division of GardaWorld based in Boca Raton that provided armored truck services was caught taking shortcuts on safety, including spending so little on maintenance that trucks often lacked reliable brakes or seat belts and putting drivers with little training or a history of unsafe driving behind the wheels of its vehicle, according to a 2020 Tampa Bay Times investigation. The investigation also found that the company lost track of millions of dollars of client money.

Tangent

A few month ago, in the midst of Chicago’s struggle to accommodate the migrants being bussed into the city, Chicago received reports about police officers potentially having inappropriate sexual relations with migrants being house inside the Ogden police station on the city’s west side. The Chicago Police Department immediately launched an internal investigation in July. However, months later, the city’s Civilian Office of Police Accountability has been unable to identify any witnesses to corroborate allegations of sexual misconduct involving officers and migrants at the station, the Tribune reported.

Key Background

More than 10,000 men, women and children have arrived in Chicago since August as part of Abbot’s scheme, which has sent migrants to multiple cities including Washington, D.C. and New York City. Abbott said he’s sent over 23,500 migrants from Texas to liberal cities across the country in a political move meant to make a statement about U.S. immigration policies and to take the burden of handling these migrants off Texas cities. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis , have also sent migrants to liberal cities, and Chicago isn’t the only city that’s struggled to accommodate the new arrivals. In May, New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Health & Human Services Anne Williams-Isom said during a press conference that the city was at a “breaking point” in dealing with the migrants it’s received. ABC7 New York reports that the city has been using school gymnasiums to house migrants.