US Border Patrol Agents Uniforms Made in Mexico

Very superficially you could say this is all about "optics." That famous Administration term of how things "look" to the public:

(CNSNews.com) - U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has granted uniform contracts to VF Imagewear, Inc., an apparel company that relies on manufacturing sites in Mexico for a “significant percentage” of its occupational garments.

The latest contract with the company was awarded on Dec. 20, 2012, to make “uniform and insignia items” for the CBP at an estimated cost of $6,157,997.57, and a ceiling of $8 million.

The CBP, which is responsible for protecting America’s borders, told CNSNews.com that items from VF Imagewear, a subsidiary of VF Corporation, are manufactured in a number of locations, “including Mexico.”

“There are no domestic preference regulations or statutes applicable to DHS/CBP that would prohibit the manufacture of uniform items in Mexico,” the CBP said. “In fact, United States obligations under International Agreements require that the Agency accept items manufactured in Mexico.”

“Consistent with the foregoing, VF is permitted to provide items manufactured in Mexico under the current contract,” the agency said.

According to the company’s 2012 annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), “VF operates manufacturing facilities in Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, Europe and the Middle East.”

“A significant percentage of denim bottoms and occupational apparel are manufactured in these plants, as well as a smaller percentage of footwear,” the report says. Occupational apparel refers to uniforms made by VF Imagewear. The company supplies uniforms for a variety of industries, including transportation, hospitality, food service and for the NFL, MLB and Harley-Davidson.

Manufacturing for Major League Baseball uniforms, however, occurs in the United States, according to the annual report.

VF Imagewear also maintains websites for the uniform programs for the CBP, the Fire Department of New York City, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), and the National Park Service. “These websites provide the employees of our customers with the convenience of shopping for their work and career apparel via the Internet,” the report states.

According to VF Imagewear’s 2011 annual report, the manufacturing facilities located in Mexico, Central America and the Middle East are responsible for “cutting, sewing and finishing” of denim garments and uniforms.

The CBP said that they have recently concluded two contracts with VF Imagewear for uniforms, “a limited contract to provide uniforms for training academies and hardship and disaster situations and a contract to provide quartermaster services at the training academies.”

Currently, VF Imagewear has a contract for the short-term manufacture of uniforms and insignias, awarded in December. The contract is a result of the continuing resolution (CR) passed by Congress last year, which mandated the CBP to maintain specific levels of Border Patrol Agents, Field Officers and Air and Marine Agents.

The CBP estimated that it needed to enroll an additional 850 students in its academies to comply with the mandate, which would require 3,400 uniforms.

The agreement will also allow the CBP to replace uniforms for border patrol agents, according to the agency’s justification and approval for the contract.

Anyone else see a problem with this? Above and beyond a theoretical "buy American first" (given the unemployment numbers in the US)....but the possibility of security breeches? Border Patrol AND TSA uniforms. Insignia patches manufactured OUTSIDE the US? In Mexico and the Middle East? Uniforms worn by agents who (in theory) protect us from forces from those very countries? What could possibly go wrong with that? Yet the SAME company has manufacturing facilities in the US that turn out MLB uniforms and authorized sportswear?

Are the Feds who accepted this bid that inept or just not trying to hide the "ease" of aiding the down fall of US safety.

The entire article here:

cnsnews.com...