MVM Inc. to lay off 379 workers, including 247 in El Paso, due to contract termination

Large federal contractor MVM Inc. is laying off 379 people who work in immigration-related jobs along the U.S.-Mexico border, including 247 workers in El Paso.

The layoffs, to take effect Tuesday, March 18, are due to the termination of the company’s contract with the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement to provide logistics for unaccompanied immigrant children, according to Feb. 25 layoff notices MVM sent to the Texas Workforce Commission in Austin.

“MVM did not receive the expected extension to the contract,” a company official stated in the notices.

Besides the El Paso layoffs, MVM is also laying off 132 workers in McAllen, Texas, at the same time, because of the same contract cancellation, which the company reported to the Texas employment agency.

Illegal immigrant border crossings decline

Other federal agencies, usually the Department of Homeland Security, refer unaccompanied migrant children to the Office of Refugee Resettlement, or ORR, after being apprehended by federal immigration authorities while trying to cross the border, according to an ORR fact sheet.

The number of immigrants trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border illegally is down sharply this year in the El Paso area and along the entire border, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. The decline began last year.

Whether the decrease in immigrant children crossing the border has anything to do with the MVM contract cancellation, or is tied to the Trump administration's federal downsizing headed by multibillionaire Elon Musk, are unanswered questions.

Officials with MVM, based in the Washington, D.C., area, and officials with the U.S. Administration of Children and Families, which oversees the Office of Refugee Resettlement, did not immediately respond to El Paso Times’ requests for additional information and comments about the MVM contract cancellation.

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Immigrants' shelter operator also had layoffs

These are not the first big layoffs in El Paso related to immigration services. In November, Southwest Key Services Programs Inc. laid off 666 workers at its Casa Trail House, a large shelter for unaccompanied migrant children in far East El Paso. Austin-based Southwest Key is a nonprofit company operating immigrant children shelters in Texas, Arizona, and California, according to its website.

The federal contractors' layoffs come as the Trump administration has laid off thousands of federal workers, including some in El Paso, at several federal agencies.

MVM's federal contracts exceed $100M

MVM has received multiple contracts exceeding $100 million for the transportation and logistics of unaccompanied migrant children over the years, with the largest, most recent contract in 2022 for $404 million, according to online information from GovTribe.com, which tracks federal government contracts.

MVM’s El Paso office is in a nondescript building at 8375 Burnham Drive on the East Side. The only sign indicating MVM has an office is on a metal storage container in the parking lot.

MVM had one El Paso job posted on its website for a travel youth-care worker. The job entails accompanying unaccompanied migrant children on domestic and international airplane flights or ground transportation to facilities around the country, according to the online job description posted in February.

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Will layoffs increase El Paso unemployment rate?

The extent to which layoffs may affect El Paso County's unemployment picture is unknown.

El Paso County's unemployment rate hovered around 4.4% for most of 2024, and dipped slightly to 4.2% in December, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. The national unemployment rate was 4% in January, down slightly from 4.1%, according to federal data.

This area's unemployment rate for January and February have yet to be reported by government agencies.

Vic Kolenc may be reached at 915-546-6421; vkolenc@elpasotimes.com; @vickolenc on Twitter, now known as X.