Photo: An Abolish ICE march and day of action in Minnesota.
The Canadian Press reports: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has earmarked millions of dollars for a bulk order for 20 armoured vehicles from Canadian defence manufacturer Roshel that are built to resist bullets and bomb blasts.”
“U.S. government procurement records show the department laying out plans for an order worth the equivalent of about C$10 million for 20 Senator vehicles… The procurement document says only Roshel, which is headquartered in Brampton, Ont., meets the department’s requirements and can complete the order within 30 days.”
That article adds: “The department, commonly known as ICE, is awash in controversy and allegations of human rights abuses as U.S. President Donald Trump pursues a campaign to expel vast numbers of immigrants residing in the country illegally.”
The version of this Canadian Press article on the CTV News website specifies that the order is for “Senator STANG emergency response tactical vehicles.”
The Roshel website suggests this might actually be “STANAG”. Popular Science explains that STANAG means “standard agreement” and refers to an established NATO standard indicating “the Senator MRAP is designed to withstand a range of the kinds of attacks that NATO can expect to see in the field.”
Concerns in Canada
The Canadian Press has subsequently reported: “[New Democratic Party Member of Parliament] Jenny Kwan says she’s deeply troubled because the ICE agency has been credibly accused of human rights abuses. …Kelsey Gallagher from Project Ploughshares, a non-governmental organization that promotes peace, says if the vehicles were sold to any other security service in the world with the same documented pattern of abuse, Ottawa likely would step in to stop it.”
Civil liberties
In November 2025, Chandra Bhatnagar, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) in Southern California, noted: “Over the summer, masked heavily armed federal agents invaded neighborhoods across Southern California abducting residents from their homes, workplaces, and public spaces without warrants or identification.”
He further noted: “Immediately after DHS [Department of Homeland Security] began to increase enforcement, thousands of Southern California residents began rising up to document and protest the raids. Advocacy groups, labor organizations, and civil rights attorneys began organizing emergency legal and humanitarian responses. In the summer and fall, the Southern California community took part in two of the largest mobilizations in U.S. history, protesting the ICE raids and unconstitutional federal response. In response, federal officers and local law enforcement attempted to suppress the protests with force, shooting at press and protesters with tear gas, pepper spray, rubber bullets, and other weapons. They also arrested hundreds of people, almost all of whom were exercising their rights peacefully.”
Unión del Barrio
Last week, the Toronto Star reported about Union del Barrio volunteers who patrol the streets of Los Angeles to protect undocumented residents from ICE raids.
That article notes: “[Lupe] Carrasco is one of many organizers for Union del Barrio, part of the city’s collective that stands watch for those who can’t afford to disappear. The network warns undocumented residents about immigration raids and helps support their constitutional rights. When ICE agents move in, the volunteers follow. They record video, shout out rights over megaphones and make sure no one is taken quietly.”
The article further notes that the volunteers wear “green hoodies and T-shirts stamped with the profile of a Mexican eagle warrior” and their cars have affixed magnetic signs that say in English and Spanish: “Protecting Communities from ICE and Police Terror”.
This past August, The Guardian also reported: “[The] coalition of trained volunteers called Unión del Barrio, patrol the barrios, or neighbourhoods, to look for immigration enforcement, ‘La Migra’. When they spot Ice activity, they post videos that go viral, alerting people to seek shelter.”
United Nations
The ACLU in Southern California has also highlighted: “This month, for the first time, the U.S. refused to participate in the United Nations Universal Periodic Review (UPR), a process that examines the human rights record of each member state.”
We recall the obligations of companies to the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
Under those Guiding Principles all companies, including those that produce “military goods”, must assess and address human rights risks and abuses arising in all aspects of their business, including how clients such as national armies and police forces use their weaponry and related services.
Additionally, Amnesty International has highlighted that the legal concepts of “corporate complicity” in and the “aiding and abetting” of international crimes could in the future apply to arms companies that continue supplying weapons in the knowledge that they may be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of human rights.
Other Canadian companies
This past July, the Associated Press reported: “Immigrants who are arrested by Florida law enforcement officers under the federal government’s 287(g) program will be taken to the [South Florida Detention Facility, known as Alligator Alcatraz], according to a Trump administration official. The program is led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement [ICE] and allows police officers to interrogate immigrants in their custody and detain them for potential deportation.”
In late-November, The Walrus reported: “Among the companies contracted to provide services for Alligator Alcatraz are IRG Global Emergency Management—a US offshoot of ARS Global Emergency Management, a Toronto-based company also known as Access Restoration Services Ltd—and a US-based business unit of Quebec-based security operator GardaWorld.”
That article further noted: “According to the Globe and Mail, the US offshoot of GardaWorld has been shortlisted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with thirty-nine additional companies, to compete for further detention centre contracts.”
Amnesty International has called for the closure of the detention facility.
PBI-USA
PBI-USA has commented: “Every day, we wake to a new assault on our fundamental rights and words or actions by the U.S. President that make us question the extent to which he will follow through on his threats. It can be overwhelming.”
CANSEC 2026
Roshel, the company building the armoured vehicles for ICE, is a regular sponsors and exhibitor at the CANSEC arms show in Ottawa.
The next CANSEC takes place on May 27-28, 2026.
We continue to follow this.
Additional reading: Israel reportedly seeks to import about 30 armoured vehicles made by Brampton, Ontario-based Roshel Inc. (PBI-Canada article, March 16, 2024).
