MVM, a California corporation incorporated as "M V M, Inc.," is a company headquartered in Ashburn,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the East Coast of the United States, Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography an ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. It is a

private security contractor A private military company (PMC) or private military and security company (PMSC) is a private company providing armed combat or security services for financial gain. PMCs refer to their personnel as "security contractors" or "private militar ...

that provides security contractors, staffing, training, translation and related services to

Government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government ...

clients including being a contractor for detaining children who are subject to immigration proceedings.

History

Foundation

Dario O. Marquez, Jr., a former

United States Secret Service The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency under the United States Department of Homeland Security, Department of Homeland Security charged with co ...

agent and two other former agents co-founded MVM in 1979. From 1984 through 2015 Marquez was the company's president and CEO. In 2015, Marquez sold his interest in MVM to his son, Kevin Marquez, formerly the company's chief operating officer. In the 1980s, MVM was awarded a contract by the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other natio ...

to supply Cleared American Guards (CAG) to U.S. embassies throughout the world. Following the

1991 Haitian coup d'état The 1991 Haitian coup d'état took place on 29 September 1991, when President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, elected eight months earlier in the 1990–91 Haitian general election, was deposed by the Armed Forces of Haiti. Haitian military officers, p ...

and subsequent reinstatement of Haitian President

Jean-Bertrand Aristide Jean-Bertrand Aristide (born 15 July 1953) is a Haitian former Salesian priest and politician who became Haiti's first democratically elected president. A proponent of liberation theology, Aristide was appointed to a parish in Port-au-Prince ...

in 1994, MVM became the first private American firm to protect a foreign head of state in his own homeland. Following the

September 11th attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerci ...

, MVM received contracts from the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

and the

U.S. Justice Department The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Sta ...

. MVM continues work on these contracts as well as contracts with agencies incorporated into the Department of

Homeland Security Homeland security is an American national security term for "the national effort to ensure a homeland that is safe, secure, and resilient against terrorism and other hazards where American interests, aspirations, and ways of life can thrive" t ...

. In 2018, MVM won a contract from the FBI to conduct classified research for its

High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group The High-Value Detainee Interrogation Group (HIG) is a U.S. three-agency intelligence-gathering entity that brings together intelligence professionals from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), and the ...

Contracts

MVM currently holds multiple multimillion-dollar contracts with multiple US government agencies, including the

Justice Department A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration th ...

(ICE),

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other nat ...

United States Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a Government agency, bureau within the United States Department of Justice, U.S. Depa ...

, the Washington, D.C. Public Schools system, and the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

. Among these is a $162 million contract with ICE to transport unaccompanied minor migrants. In July 2018, it was reported that MVM used a

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the o ...

office building to provide unaccompanied minors shelter during the previous three weeks despite not being zoned for human occupancy or having a state license to serve as a child care facility. According to ICE, it was for those "awaiting same-day transport with a more comfortable and private atmosphere than they might otherwise have at a public transportation hub". In July 2020, it was reported that MVM was taking unaccompanied migrant children to three Hampton Inn & Suites hotels in Arizona and at the Texas-Mexico border (McAllen, El Paso and Phoenix), where they were typically detained and then expelled from the United States. In April, 2020, at least 29 children were detained at the hotels, some with multiple stays. In May, 80 children were detained. In June, 2020, 120 were detained.

References

External links

MVM, Inc.
{{authority control Companies based in Vienna, Virginia Security companies of the United States Private military contractors Security consulting firms Immigration to the United States Mercenaries