U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could hire more workers at its offices in Vermont as part of a $100 million plan to boost intelligence-gathering for the branch of the agency that carries out arrests and deportations, federal records show.
The plan, which is not final, calls for 24 positions evenly split between ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center and its National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center, both of which are in Williston. They’re among 142 total positions proposed for ICE offices around the country, all of which would be staffed by a government contractor.
The workers would provide “intelligence research and analytical support” for ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division, often abbreviated ERO, according to a contracting document published online last month. That includes “understanding emerging trends, identifying potential threats, recognizing intelligence gaps, assessing relationships and patterns” and a number of other duties.
The contractors would work with a mix of classified and unclassified information, and at least some of them would need “top secret” government security clearance, according to the document. ICE estimates the total cost of the nationwide plan, called ERO Overwatch and National Security Enforcement, would be more than $100 million, according to another federal record published last month.
The government has been “conducting market research” for the plan and issued a request for information to potential contractors, which was due late last month, according to the published records. A final contract could be awarded around February, the magazine The American Prospect reported last week, citing intelligence contracting experts.
One of the Williston centers, the Law Enforcement Support Center, is located on Harvest Lane. It operates a round-the-clock service for police nationwide to get information on a person’s immigration status, as well as a tip line for the public. Workers there also generate leads for immigration enforcement agents and process biometric data for other federal law enforcement agencies including the U.S. Secret Service, according to ICE’s website.
Less than a 10-minute drive away on Industrial Avenue, the National Criminal Analysis and Targeting Center also develops leads for ICE operations, using an array of digital tools to provide “critical investigative support for daily arrest efforts,” according to an agency webpage.
Together, the centers are a major node in ERO’s national intelligence-gathering network. Another key facility, the Pacific Enforcement Response Center, is located in Southern California. That center would get nine contract workers under the plan outlined last month.
The plan marks at least the third time ICE has considered increasing its staffing at Vermont’s facilities since President Donald Trump took office a second time last year, but the agency has disclosed little information publicly about those earlier efforts.
Both Vermont centers have been regular sites for protests in Trump’s second term. Some of those demonstrators have been arrested and are now facing trespassing charges.
The demonstrations in Vermont have been a far cry from the violent clashes that have erupted between protesters and federal agents in other parts of the country. Earlier this month, protesters wrote anti-ICE messages with chalk on the facade of the Law Enforcement Support Center and blocked the road in front of the building using garden beds.
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for more information on Monday about its plans for the facilities in Vermont.
This story was first published by VTDigger and is republished with permission as part of the Vermont Journalism Trust’s Community News Sharing Project.