"Through DHS, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has entered into contracts worth $5.2 million in the past year with Pittsfield-based Lenco Industries, known for its tactical BearCat vehicle."
""ICE and its components have used Bearcats in very high profile situations for what have become social media videos, recruiting videos to present a particular - as one of the people I interviewed in the story said - a 'militarized aesthetic' to immigration enforcement," Shein told Boston.com."
"The contracts - including a $411,000 contract for a BearCat armored tactical vehicle for an ICE special response team in Kansas City - were first reported earlier this month by Reason Gone Mad, independent journalist Bill Shein's project covering the region."
"Lenny Light, the executive vice president of Lenco, said in an email that, while the vehicle is noticeable during ICE activity, "we haven't seen the BearCat as a visually central part of ICE operations.""
Through the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement entered into about $5.2 million in contracts in the past year with Pittsfield-based Lenco Industries for BearCat armored vehicles. The deals include a $411,000 purchase for an ICE special response team in Kansas City and represent the state's largest ICE vehicle contract. Lenco received two state grants to increase production. BearCat vehicles have appeared during arrests and in social media and recruitment videos, creating a visible, militarized aesthetic in some immigration enforcement actions. The company maintains the BearCat is not a visually central part of ICE operations.
Read at Boston.com
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