Homeland security secretary nominee Kristi Noem arrives to meet U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 11, 2024. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
The America First Policy Institute (AFPI), a pro-Donald Trump think tank run by his former chief of staff, helped secure a $1 billion Department of Homeland Security contract tied to new planes for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.
Noem has already spent $200 million on a pair of luxury Gulfstream G700 private jets for her team during a government shutdown.
On Wednesday, the Washington Post reported that the fast-tracked contract is closely linked to AFPI’s top donor. That donor, William Walters, runs the company that received a separate $140 million Noem-approved contract to buy six Boeing 737 planes for use in deportations, as the Post reported last week.
Under the larger deal, AFPI is set to oversee “Project Homecoming,” which will deport people the administration deems unlawfully present to their home countries or to third countries.
"The program arose from an executive order on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term directing DHS to develop policies to encourage immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, a process the administration calls 'self-deportation,'" the report explained.
"The larger contract involves a DHS program called Project Homecoming that offers cash bonuses, free flights and a 'concierge service' at airports for departing migrants," the report said. "The program arose from an executive order on the first day of President Donald Trump’s second term directing DHS to develop policies to encourage immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, a process the administration calls “self-deportation.”
DHS claimed that the nonpartisan federal officials ensure the legitimacy of contracting decisions. Indeed, they do, but not in this case. The Post obtained emails exposing that it was the political appointees who chose the Meadows outfit for the $1 billion contract.
The main contract went to an Arlington-based firm, Salus Worldwide Solutions, incorporated in 2023, which advertises expertise in coordinating international travel, disaster relief, and security facilities. It has never previously held a federal contract, but documents show Walters, its CEO, is a major donor to AFPI.
DHS promoted its self-deportation program with various reels, including a vintage message trying to make it sound like self-deportation could earn them money.