Van Hollen Joins Welch, Colleagues in Effort to Rein in Defense Department’s Use of Fast-Tracked Contracts to Help Build ICE Warehouses

U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) joined Senator Peter Welch (D-Vt.) and 14 of their colleagues in calling for new language in the Fiscal Year 2027 (FY27) appropriations bill to tighten control and oversight of the Department of Defense's (DOD) use of fast-tracked contract vehicles for domestic immigration enforcement. In the absence of this oversight, DOD has helped the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) bypass local and state regulation and federal procurement rules to build ICE's warehouse-style migrant detention centers across the country.

"We write to request your inclusion of language in the FY27 Defense Appropriations bill and report tightening control and oversight over the Department's use of DOD expeditionary contract vehicles for domestic immigration enforcement. Congress intended contract vehicles such as the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) to give DOD exceptional authority to provide accelerated and flexible logistical and support services to U.S. expeditionary forces around the world. Yet in recent months, DOD has deviated from this purpose by allowing DHS to use WEXMAC-TITUS to bypass federal acquisition procedures and local and state control, in order to fast-track construction and acquisition of domestic infrastructure for a campaign of mass deportation," wrote the lawmakers.

"DOD's warfighter contract vehicles are being misused to facilitate the largest immigrant detention camp system since World War II's detention of persons of Japanese ancestry. This bill and report language will allow Congress to reassert appropriate oversight and restore original legislative intent surrounding these authorities," the lawmakers conclude.

Senators Van Hollen and Welch were joined by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), and Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.).

Read the full letter here and below:

Dear Chairman McConnell and Ranking Member Coons:

We write to request your inclusion of language in the FY27 Defense Appropriations bill and report tightening control and oversight over the Department's use of DOD expeditionary contract vehicles for domestic immigration enforcement. Congress intended contract vehicles such as the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract (WEXMAC) to give DOD exceptional authority to provide accelerated and flexible logistical and support services to U.S. expeditionary forces around the world. Yet in recent months, DOD has deviated from this purpose by allowing DHS to use WEXMAC-TITUS to bypass federal acquisition procedures and local and state control, in order to fast-track construction and acquisition of domestic infrastructure for a campaign of mass deportation.

To restore WEXMAC to its intended purpose, we respectfully request inclusion of the following bill and report language in the FY27 Defense Appropriations bill:

Bill language: SEC. ___. PROHIBITION AGAINST THE USE OF DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE FUNDING TO SUPPORT DOMESTIC IMMIGRATION ENFORCEMENT OPERATIONS. None of the funds appropriated or otherwise made available to the Department of Defense by this Act may be used to enter into any new contract or agreement or to execute any existing contract or agreement whose primary purpose is expeditionary logistics, contingency contracting, base operations support, theater opening or sustainment contracting, and operational contract support, for the purpose of supporting domestic immigration enforcement operations for the Department of Homeland Security.

Report language: Report and Briefing-The Committee is concerned by reports that the Department of Homeland Security has used the Department of Defense's WEXMAC-TITUS contracting vehicle to bypass standard federal contracting guidelines, state and local oversight and approval, farmland and rural land preservation guidelines, and standard environmental review requirements. Within 60 days of enactment, the committee requests a report and briefing by the Department on actions by the Department to (1) amend regulations to clarify that "humanitarian assistance" and "logistics support" for purposes of the WEXMAC-TITUS vehicle shall not include incarceration or detention of humans; (2) bring WEXMAC-TITUS in line with federal competitive bidding procurement regulations requiring public notice and competitive bidding; (3) ensure that state and local zoning laws and approval regulations are respected by WEXMAC-TITUS federal procurement processes; (4) require all DHS facilities contracted through DOD vehicles to undergo full environmental impact studies with regards to sewage and water usage for detention purposes. The committee also requests that the Department share all WEXMAC-TITUS contract documents and all amounts spent on detention-related warehouses, facilities, and services for DHS with the committees on armed services and appropriations.

DOD's warfighter contract vehicles are being misused to facilitate the largest immigrant detention camp system since World War II's detention of persons of Japanese ancestry. This bill and report language will allow Congress to reassert appropriate oversight and restore original legislative intent surrounding these authorities.

Sincerely,