GardaWorld Federal Services, owned by Montreal-headquartered GardaWorld, is among 40 companies approved to facilitate immigration detention services to ICE.Richard Vogel/The Associated Press
A subsidiary of Canadian private security giant GardaWorld has secured approval from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to compete for up to US$138-million in “emergency detention” services, federal procurement records show.
GardaWorld Federal Services, which is based in Virginia and owned by Montreal-headquartered GardaWorld, is among 40 companies recently approved to vie for orders to facilitate a sweeping immigration crackdown that is raising significant concerns about detention conditions and due process.
The total value of the work is expected to reach as high as $10-billion, according to the most recent publicly available solicitation document reviewed by The Globe and Mail.
ICE’s agreement with GardaWorld’s U.S. subsidiary imposes an $138-million cap on the services the company can bid on – one of the highest ceilings issued by the enforcement agency under the emergency solicitation agreement.
The emergency acquisition is in service of U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration issued earlier this year to “protect the American people against invasion.” It opens the door to potentially lucrative opportunities for companies that had not previously been directly involved in ICE detention efforts.
Mr. Trump is devoting unprecedented resources to a deportation campaign focused heavily on incarceration, which has alarmed rights groups who say detention facilities are overcrowded, unsanitary, and ill-equipped to provide appropriate medical care. Twelve people have died in ICE custody this year, including a Canadian man, Johnny Noviello, who died in a Miami prison in June.
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Aidan Gilchrist-Blackwood of the Canadian Network on Corporate Accountability said the GardaWorld deal raises concerns about Canadian companies’ involvement in potential human rights abuses. He said the agreement underscores the need for legislation requiring Canadian companies – and their subsidiaries – to “respect human rights throughout their operations around the world, and face consequences if they fail to do so.”
Currently, Canadian law requires only that companies report on steps taken, if any, to address the use of child or forced labour, and does not mandate a full human rights due diligence process, Mr. Gilchrist-Blackwood said.
Ketty Nivyabandi, secretary-general of Amnesty International Canada’s English-speaking section, called Mr. Trump’s immigration policies “cruel and racist.”
“By providing services related to the mass detention of non-U.S. citizens, GardaWorld risks contributing to or being complicit in widespread human rights violations against people seeking safety and opportunity in the U.S.,” she said.
Law enforcement and ICE officers arrest a demonstrator part of the June, 2025, Los Angeles protests against U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration laws.RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Images
Neither GardaWorld, its board members, nor its U.S. subsidiary responded to questions about the agreement with the immigration enforcement agency. The Globe and Mail contacted several investment firms with minority stakes in the company, none of whom commented.
ICE also did not respond to The Globe’s questions.
Procurement records related to the solicitation show GardaWorld Federal Services is approved to compete for certain categories of work, including security guards and patrol services. The records do not specify the locations or facilities where ICE may be seeking such services.
The White House’s direction under the recent emergency acquisition requires ICE to bring “an additional allotment of detention beds online nationwide to accommodate increased arrests,” the solicitation document says.
The shortlisting of the 40 companies expedites the procurement process so that ICE’s work orders can be fulfilled quickly, without having to renegotiate all the terms.
GardaWorld Federal Services has previously secured numerous contracts with the U.S. government, but none directly with ICE for detention services, according to the data reviewed by The Globe, which dates back to 2011. The records show the company has provided services to several federal departments, chiefly the Department of State, within the U.S. and abroad.
John Babcock, a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, said the Canadian government “expects Canadian companies operating abroad to abide by all relevant laws, to respect human rights in their operations, and to adopt best practices and internationally respected guidelines on responsible business conduct.”
GardaWorld Federal Services also has an active agreement with the Florida governor’s office to provide the state with “materials, services, and personnel resources during emergencies” which include “mass migration incidents,” state procurement documents show.
Earlier this year, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis invoked a 2023 executive order declaring an “alarming influx of migrants” to be an emergency to rapidly construct a state-funded immigration detention centre in Ochopee, Fla.
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Several weeks ago, GardaWorld Federal Services’ verified LinkedIn profile listed a job opening for an armed security guard in Ochopee, the location of the facility now dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz” because it is situated in a subtropical wetland teeming with crocodiles, alligators and venomous snakes.
GardaWorld Federal Services’ careers site is also advertising a range of jobs based at a “custodial centre” in a “remote part of southern central Florida” where successful candidates will be required to live on site. The roles include armed security guards, correctional officers and Spanish-English translators to ensure “accurate communication between staff and residents.”
Alligator Alcatraz, which is about 88 kilometres west of Miami, consists of cage-style cells within heavy-duty tents and was built in eight days on an abandoned air strip – prompting outrage from environmental and human rights activists.
A spokesperson for GardaWorld directed queries from The Globe to the Florida Division of Emergency Management, and did not respond to questions about the nature and scope of any of its immigration-related contracts.
The Florida Division of Emergency Management did not respond to questions, nor did the governor’s office, which entered into the agreement with GardaWorld Federal Services. Publicly available procurement records do not disclose the value of the company’s potential work. The records indicate that the state has not yet disbursed any money to GardaWorld Federal Services in relation to the agreement.
A road sign in Ochopee, Fla., the location of the state-managed immigration detention facility that officials have named “Alligator Alcatraz.”Joe Raedle/Getty Images
At the federal level, Congress recently passed a massive spending bill that allocates nearly US$30-billion to round up and deport immigrants. According to the American Immigration Council, an advocacy organization, the bill represents the single largest increase in funding to immigration enforcement in the history of the United States. There are almost 58,000 people detained on immigration charges, ICE data show – exceeding the highest detention levels set by the previous Trump administration back in 2019.
At least four other subsidiaries of GardaWorld have previously been awarded small ICE contracts for transportation and management consulting services, according to the procurement data.
In 2023, GardaWorld Federal Services signed a controversial deal with the City of Chicago to build a tent basecamp to house migrants, which was later scrapped owing to environmental concerns.
A subsidiary of GardaWorld also provided medical staff for an “unaccompanied migrant children facility” in 2021, court records obtained by The Globe say.
Jessica Tillipman, the associate dean for government procurement law studies at the George Washington University Law School, said GardaWorld Federal Services’ participation in the solicitation process – regardless of the value of the orders it ends up securing – is a clear indication of its desire to provide its services to ICE.
“I suspect there are some companies that have decided not to bid on this,” Prof. Tillipman said. “They might say, ‘This is a bridge too far for us.’”