ICE awards nearly $200 million in migrant-child location work to a Virginia firm with no prior federal contracts

The ICE order is the first for Savvy Professor LLC — a firm announced in April that secured a lucrative federal contract just two months later.

Private investigators to begin home visits under a federal contract worth nearly $200 million intended to verify the welfare of unaccompanied migrant children placed with sponsors. (Tom Rumble on Unsplash)

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a nearly $200 million contract to a Virginia company that has never held a federal contract before. According to federal contracting records reviewed by Project Salt Box, Savvy Professor LLC was hired on June 17 to help find and check on unaccompanied migrant children released to sponsors nationwide.

It is the first order under a much larger, open-ended agreement the agency set up with Savvy Professor, and it requires the company to handle at least 1,000 cases, each one a child it is paid to locate and check on. The government classifies the work as investigation services.

The figures attached to the deal describe different things. The $1.6 billion is a ceiling, the most ICE could pay the company if it keeps ordering work up to that limit over the contract’s life. The agency buys the work in batches, and this first order is estimated at nearly $200 million. Of that, about $4.7 million has been set aside so far, the money the government has formally committed to pay as the work is done.

The order is part of a much larger federal effort, the Unaccompanied Alien Children Safety Verification Initiative, or SVI, that the Department of Homeland Security launched in November and describes as a way to protect children placed with sponsors from abuse and trafficking. The children, who arrived in the country without a parent or guardian, were placed with sponsors — usually relatives — while their immigration cases proceed.

In March, ICE asked private companies to help check on an estimated 100,000 of these children. On March 16, ICE modified an $801.8 million contract with MVM, Inc. to include the SVI as part of its core responsibilities.

ICE has since awarded these kinds of open-ended contracts to 18 companies, with ceilings reaching $3.1 billion and a combined potential value above $20 billion. The administration says the checks confirm that a child is safe, in school and not being exploited.

However, an internal ICE document reviewed by the Guardian indicates the operations are meant to deport the children or build criminal cases against them or their sponsors.

Savvy Professor does business as SIVS LLC and lists its address as a private residence on Old Mill Lane in Spotsylvania, Va. At the same address, it holds a federal license to sell firearms under the name SIVS Tactical Solutions, according to corporate registration records reviewed by Project Salt Box.

SIVS LLC’s owner, Todd Thompson, describes himself on LinkedIn as a “medically retired FBI Cyber Tech” whose prior work included “providing technical support to FBI field casework” and “conducting FBI child exploitation investigations.”

At the time of publication, visitors to the company’s website encountered a browser security warning because the site presented an expired certificate issued to *.hostingplatform.com rather than to sivs.us.

Those who chose to proceed were redirected to a password-protected Shopify storefront, sivsllc.myshopify.com, where a page titled “SIVS Tactical Solutions” instructed visitors to text “PW” to 540.308.9595 — the same number Mr. Thompson used in social media recruitment posts — for access.

In a Facebook post on April 4, Mr. Thompson wrote that he had “recently started a private investigation firm” and had bid on a government contract “to help track down unaccompanied minors,” and said he would hire case managers and “mission support specialists” willing to travel.

He described the work as well suited to retired law enforcement officers and first responders, and wrote that “husband/wife teams are encouraged to apply.” Mr. Thompson told interested applicants to text him for more information.

Less than two months later, the federal government awarded his firm nearly $200 million.

Mr. Thompson did not respond to emailed questions about the company or his background in time for publication.

SIVS advertised at least three positions related to the contract, including a full-time case manager in Spotsylvania and a contract child protection case manager in Orlando, both listed as remote roles. The postings drew 36 and 27 applicants respectively before applications were closed.

In practice, the listings described supervisory, investigative, and compliance functions. Case managers were responsible for real-time quality control during home visits and address verifications, including use of standardized checklists, documentation requirements, and immediate escalation procedures for suspected abuse, neglect, or trafficking concerns. They would also coordinate directly with local law enforcement and Child Protective Services when cases required intervention or protective custody determinations.

Neither role required an existing investigator’s license, with the company stating it would support selected hires in obtaining certification. Workers would be required to front travel costs and be reimbursed later under the contract structure.

Compensation across postings varied, with ranges between $50,000 and $100,000 annually depending on role and listing version. One mission support specialist posting listed duties including maintaining case files, purchasing gift cards and groceries for families, and using commercial and public databases to identify the current addresses and occupants associated with a child’s location. Preferred qualifications included “Spanish language skills (or strong proficiency with Google Translate).”