BCCG JV ()

B-424377 Jun 22, 2026 Jump To VIEW DECISION DOWNLOADS RELATED PAGES GAO CONTACTS Highlights BCCG JV, of Montgomery, Alabama, protests the issuance of a task order to Cochrane USA Inc., of Fredericksburg, Virginia, by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for the design and construction of waterborne barriers. The protester contends that the agency improperly issued the task order on a sole-source basis, and that the task order issuance violates restrictions against conflicts of interest. We dismiss the protest. View Decision Decision DOCUMENT FOR PUBLIC RELEASE The decision issued on the date below was subject to a GAO Protective Order. This version has been approved for public release. Matter of: BCCG JV File: B-424377 Date: June 22, 2026 Robert J. Symon, Esq., Nathaniel J. Greeson, Esq., Erik M. Coon, Esq., and Elizabeth A. Brown, Esq., Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP, for the protester. Kimberly L. Cohen, Esq., and Adam Struble, Esq., Department of Homeland Security, for the agency. Nathaniel S. Canfield, Esq., and Evan D. Wesser, Esq., Office of the General Counsel, GAO, participated in the preparation of the decision. DIGEST 1. Protest challenging the issuance of a sole‑source task order is dismissed where the agency issued the task order on a sole‑source basis pursuant to a waiver under the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, which vests exclusive jurisdiction over causes or claims arising from actions undertaken pursuant to such a waiver in the district courts of the United States. 2. Protest alleging that issuance of a task order violated restrictions on conflicts of interest is dismissed where it fails to provide factually and legally sufficient bases of protest. DECISION BCCG JV, of Montgomery, Alabama, protests the issuance of a task order to Cochrane USA Inc., of Fredericksburg, Virginia, by the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, for the design and construction of waterborne barriers. The protester contends that the agency improperly issued the task order on a sole‑source basis, and that the task order issuance violates restrictions against conflicts of interest. We dismiss the protest. BACKGROUND Section 102 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, as amended, directs the Secretary of Homeland Security to “take such actions as may be necessary to install additional physical barriers and roads . . . in the vicinity of the United States border to deter illegal crossings in areas of high illegal entry into the United States.” Pub. L. 104‑208, 110 Stat. 3009‑546 (1996), amended by Pub. L. 109‑13, 119 Stat. 306 (2005); Pub. L. 109‑367, 120 Stat. 2638 (2006); Pub. L. 110‑161, 121 Stat. 2090 (2007) (codified at 8 U.S.C. § 1103 note) (hereinafter “IIRIRA”). To support the execution of that directive, the IIRIRA further provides that “[n]otwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall have the authority to waive all legal requirements such Secretary, in such Secretary's sole discretion, determines necessary to ensure expeditious construction of the barriers and roads under this section[.]” Id. § 102(c)(1). As specified in the IIRIRA, “[a]ny such decision by the Secretary shall be effective upon being published in the Federal Register.” Id. Relevant here, the Secretary of Homeland Security published a determination pursuant to section 102 of the IIRIRA in the Federal Register on October 15, 2025. See 90 Fed. Reg. 48284 (Oct. 15, 2025). The Secretary stated her determination that the United States Border Patrol Rio Grande Valley Sector,[1] “which is in the vicinity of the United States border . . . is an area of high illegal entry.” Id. at 48285. The Secretary further stated that, “[i]n order to ensure the expeditious construction of the barriers and roads in the Rio Grande Valley Sector, . . . it is necessary [to] exercise the authority that is vested in [the Secretary] by section 102(a) of the IIRIRA.” Id.