ICE employees reportedly thought McKinsey consultant's cost-cutting recommendations went too far
McKinsey & Company, a renowned international consulting firm that's been helping U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement find ways to cut costs under the Trump administration, went too far for some of the agency's employees, The New York Times reports.
The firm's consultants reportedly became so focused on restricting spending that they considered making food, medical care, and maintenance at ICE detention centers part of the cuts. These ideas raised concerns for many career ICE officials, per the Times. Three people who worked on the cost-cutting project told the Times there were concerns the consultants weren't considering how their policy ideas would potentially affect thousands of human beings.
The ICE staff members and consultants reportedly held "heated meetings," in which the ICE employees questioned whether McKinsey's measures were worth the eventual human cost. ICE staffers also reportedly thought the McKinsey consultants were trying to find methods that risked "short-circuiting" due-process protections for migrants in an attempt to speed up the deportation process like the Trump administration wanted. McKinsey and ICE spokesman Bryan Cox denied McKinsey's recommendations would harm the well-being of detainees.
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The proposals that really worried ICE officials reportedly weren't incorporated, but they still remain on the books at the agency. Read more at The New York Times.
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Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
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