Another twist in City Hall security contract: Oakland can't hire companies that work with ICE

"On Thursday, the Oakland City Council's rules committee will decide whether to schedule a vote on whether or not Allied should get the $45 million deal. But Allied is a big company and one of its subsidiary firms has contracts with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, or ICE. That could be a problem because city rules ban Oakland from doing business with companies that provide ICE and the Border Patrol with "services or goods for data collection or immigration detention facilities.""

"The city's 2019 "Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance" also prohibits the city from investing municipal funds in companies that do business with those agencies. Allied, which is one of the largest private employers in the country, purchased a subsidiary company called G4S Secure Solutions in 2021. According to federal procurement records, G4S has contracts worth approximately $59 million with the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE. G4S provides "armed detention officers transportation services" among other services."

Oakland officials are proposing to award a $45 million city security contract to Allied Universal Security Services after months of internal disagreement. The Oakland City Council's rules committee will decide whether to schedule a vote on the contract. Allied purchased G4S Secure Solutions in 2021, and G4S holds roughly $59 million in Department of Homeland Security contracts, including armed detention officer transportation services. Oakland's 2019 Sanctuary City Contracting and Investment Ordinance bans doing business with companies that provide ICE or Border Patrol with services or goods for data collection or immigration detention facilities and prohibits investing municipal funds in such companies. Earlier this summer the proposal was withdrawn after councilmember objections.

Read at The Oaklandside