GekeVenn: SERCO

Serco is a government contractor based in the UK that runs immigrant detention centers and several prisons. The company lobbies here in the US both to change how the US detains minors and to secure contracts to detain migrant families here.

Last week, Serco was awarded a $43 million contract from the US Army for “logistics operations support” of the Army Sustainment Command. The company also contracts for the FAA.

In 2015, Serco circulated a document among congressional staffers, suggesting ways to improve the public perception of family detention in ICE facilities. But the company has a spotted track record, at best. Serco detention centers in Australia and the UK have been implicated in the sexual assault of detainees by Serco staff. Christmas Island, one of its Australian sites, has reportedly experienced a rash of suicide attempts, self-harm, and rioting.

A more recent Serco scandal happened this summer across the pond, involving the appointment of a former in-house Serco lobbyist, Edward Argar, to a position within the UK's Ministry of Justice. Currently, Serco has contracts with that UK government agency worth about 3.6 billion pounds.

In 2016, county commissioners voted against allowing Serco open a family detention facility in Jim Wells County, Texas, despite its state-level lobbying efforts.

Note that in addition to his work as a vice president of transportation, Patrick McGowan has also lobbied for Serco on the federal level.

USTR = Office of US Trade Representative
CoS = Chief of Staff
OCR = Office of Congressional Relations
ICE = Immigration and Customs Enforcement