Border Patrol orders ‘rapid’ acquisition of cold-weather apparel for Maine’s sector

 A truck and car pull away from the border crossing station on Interstate 95 in Houlton in September 2025. (Gregory Rec/Staff Photographer) The Department of Homeland Security issued an order for “the rapid acquision (sic) of cold-weather apparel” for its U.S. Customs and Border Protection Houlton Sector on Thursday as rumors swirl over whether a large-scale immigration enforcement operation is on Maine’s doorstep. The contract was awarded to Crye Precision LLC, a Brooklyn-based outfitter, for jackets and pants of various sizes, to be delivered to the Houlton Sector’s base in neighboring Hodgdon, according to a federal notice. The notice did not include the number of garments or the cost of the order. A Customs and Border Patrol spokesperson did not respond to an email Friday asking for details of the order and whether it was a routine purchase. There are no records of similar orders to Border Patrol’s Houlton Sector in at least the past 15 years. DHS recently spent about $85,000 to acquire parkas from a Tennessee company “to support an urgent enforcement mission” ahead of the rapid deployment of federal agents in Minnesota, [first reported by Bloomberg.](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-06/ice-orders-85-000-of-parkas-in-urgent-minnesota-winter-crackdown) The Houlton Sector’s order includes “Crye ATO(^TM) Mid Loft Jackets and Pants” of “variou... --- *Note: This is a summarized excerpt. Click the source link above to read the full story.*