By Greg Hazley
The office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement that handles criminal illegal aliens is planning an RFP for communications and public outreach services on a pact that could stretch five years.
The ICE said the request for PR pitches would likely be issued Dec. 19. [Update, 1/3/11: The RFP is now slated for release on Jan. 11, 2011.]
The work is to include strategic counsel, message development, stakeholder relationship management, media monitoring and analysis, and a speakers bureau, among other tasks.
ICE’s Office of Secure Communities combines data from the Dept. of Homeland Security and Dept. of Justice to identify aliens arrested by local authorities. Its fingerprint/biometric sharing program – dubbed “Secure Communities” -- has drawn criticism and a legal challenge in New York since its implementation by the Obama administration in 2008.
The government said 47,000 illegal immigrants had been removed under the crackdown as of August, although some communities – Arlington, Va., San Francisco and Santa Clara, Calif. -- have tried to opt out citing civil liberties concerns as well as claims that the program has swept up innocent victims as well.
The Cardozo Law School has brought a suit on behalf of the National Day Laborer Organizing Network in New York which seeks to obtain government documents surrounding the program.
The resulting OSC PR contract is expected to run for 11 months with four year-long options. The Secure Communities Program is slated to go national by 2013.
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