Maritime Operations Support

Performance Work Statement (PWS) Maritime Operations Support Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) May 26, 2026 INTRODUCTION Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is the principal investigative arm of Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the second largest investigative agency in the Federal government. HSI’s primary mission is to promote homeland security and public safety through the criminal and civil enforcement of Federal laws governing border control, customs, trade, and immigration. HSI has a complex and broad public safety mission to enforce, collect, analyze and share timely, accurate and actionable information on criminal suspects, Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs) with HSI field offices and its domestic and foreign partners. This effort is being led by HSI and FBI’s newly formed Homeland Security Task Force (HSTF), National Coordination Center (NCC), created specifically in response to President Trump’s Executive Order 14159, Protecting the American People Against Invasion. BACKGROUND The HSTF NCC serves as the primary coordination entity for the United States Government to ensure law enforcement, Department of Defense, and intelligence efforts are deconflicted and aligned to reduce duplicative efforts, increase officer safety, and enhance United States Government collaboration for all established and future task forces, fusion cells/centers, and/or other coordination efforts with a focus on countering cartels, designated foreign terrorist organizations, and transnational organized crime impacting the United States. The HSTF NCC’s mission is to prevent, protect against, and respond to threats to the homeland presented by TCOs and FTOs involved in criminal activities. DHS Joint Task Force – Maritime (JTF-M), CBP, ICE/HSI, USCG task force, unifies action to secure the United States border and maritime approaches by integrating DHS agency resources and authorities. This approach allows JTF-M to address a wide range of threats in the maritime domain and quickly adapt to new national security challenges. JTF-M’s primary focus area includes support to the newly established HSTFs, specifically focusing on maritime threats posed by FTOs. JTF-M coordinates and employs the full range of capabilities, capacity, and authorities of DHS components in the maritime domain through the modernized Maritime Operations Coordination Plan (MOC-P). The MOC-P’s framework directly supports and is integral to the HSTF NCC and all regional HSTF Central Operations and Regional Enforcement (CORE)s. Furthermore, HSI and DHS Science and Technology (S&T) are engaged in a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) focused on transforming how ICE/HSI utilizes commercial vendor data to support HSTF’s investigations. The CRADA is focused on improving the analysis of HSI’s post-seizure data, resulting in intelligence that leads to increased visibility and understanding of the networks used to produce and distribute fentanyl and other dangerous drugs. The HSTF NCC has formalized its organizational structure and established operational groups. The next priority is to develop and sustain a Maritime Operations Group dedicated to addressing maritime threats associated with Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCOs) and Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs). It is mission critical that HSI utilizes a Subject Matter Expert (SME) with strong experience working with JTF-M and the MOC-P, to ensure the completion and incorporation of the investigative processes developed by the CRADA into the HSTF NCC Maritime operational group. SCOPE The contractor shall design, development and implement a Maritime Operations Group and shall lead the planning, creation, and maintenance of a Maritime operation group within the HSTF NCC. To achieve this, the contractor shall demonstrate the capability to conduct any of the activities or a combination of the following: Provide a cleared SME that possesses an in-depth understanding of the HSTF NCC, regional HSTFs, JTF-M, the MOC-P, and joint initiatives such as the CRADA focused on transforming how HSI utilizes commercial vendor data to support investigations related to the disruption and dismantling of FTOs. Draft all necessary Maritime operational group documents essential to HSTF NCC and the regional HSTFs. Ensure SMEs collaborate with DHS components, federal partners, and regional HSTFs. Deliver weekly threat briefs. Develop target packages and network analysis. Document after-action reports. The Contractor shall document operational tasks in Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). Identify correlating data points and transform them into actionable insights. Maintain effective working relationships, both within and outside of ICE, including members of the intelligence and law enforcement communities and other government agencies or government contractors. Protect all data consistent with DHS/NIST standards and HSI policy. Ensure SMEs and staff maintain required security clearances. Surge Only: provide cleared Intelligence Analysts for targeting, investigative case support, and operational surge. OBJECTIVE The objective of this contract is for the contractor to design, develop, and implement a dedicated maritime operational group in support of HSTF NCC and regional HSTFs.  The contractor will be expected to analyze processes, automated business workflows, and visualizations. The contractor will be responsible for standing up the Maritime group, ensuring it is operational, and sustaining its ongoing operations. This Maritime group will serve as a critical resource for drafting operational documents, facilitating interagency collaboration, and supporting joint initiatives aimed at enhancing maritime security and disrupting illicit networks. This would allow HSI HSTF NCC to create an operatio…