Birther and talk radio host Frank Wuco is now the public face of President Donald Trump's "multibillion-dollar attempt to rebuild its flailing self-deportation program," The Daily Beast reported on Monday. Now it appears there's a problem with figuring out how to replace the contractor after it received over $1 billion
The company, which didn't exist until two years before the contract, is the source of concerns about contracting, spending, performance, and the people overseeing its redesign.
At the center of the story is Wuco, a senior adviser to the Department of Homeland Security’s undersecretary for management, Brian Cavanaugh, the Beast explained. Wuco led an August 12 briefing for companies interested in bidding on a new contract worth up to $2.34 billion.
Wuco's beliefs include the racist claim that the U.S. was promoting the “Zimbabwe-fication of America and that's why he believes so strongly in the mass deportation campaign. He also falsely alleged that former CIA Director John Brennan had converted to Islam and that former Attorney General Eric Holder had been a Black Panther. In a 2016 broadcast, Wuco said the United States should have used low-yield nuclear weapons in Afghanistan after 9/11. He also reportedly adopted a fictional former-jihadist identity for presentations on Islamist extremism.
The Beast reported that "in May 2025, DHS awarded the existing $915 million contract to Salus Worldwide Solutions—a company founded and led by Trump crony and former State Department surgeon William Walters III—despite its having existed for only two years and never having led a government contract."
The company then got an additional $200 million "extension" after blowing through all of the money it was given for the initial contract. So, the Salus isn't likely to win the next contract worth about $2.34 billion.
The new competition for the cash has drawn scrutiny because of its compressed schedule. DHS issued its final request for proposals on August 19, gave bidders until August 21 to submit questions, set September 2 as the deadline for bids, and planned to select a winner by September 29. Bidders had complained that the request for proposals was vague and didn't have much detail about operations. So, bidders ultimately had just two business days to prepare the proposal and submit it
A competing company alleged that the initial award was unlawful and noncompetitive, while DHS lawyers reportedly warned that the process created an “appearance of impropriety.” The Court of Federal Claims ultimately rejected that challenge, finding no evidence of bad faith or unfair treatment.
Wuco’s involvement in finding a new company was attacked by New York Magazine as one of “Trump’s Greatest Worst Hits” of his early first term appointments. The Beast said that it "added another bizarre twist to the ongoing saga."
The successful bidder will inherit the program’s existing caseload, potentially leading operations inside up to 35 ICE detention centers, and promote the self-deportation funding options for migrants.
Although Salus initially projected 276,000 relocations in its first year, it then lowered the expectations to 108,000. Ultimately, they didn't even reach that. Company records reportedly showed 76,881 completed relocations as of March 25, 2026. Salus has also claimed that 138,000 people chose the program’s “Assisted Voluntary Departure pathway,” but has not clearly explained where that number comes from.
DHS defended Wuco’s role and said that the upcoming selection will be ethical and legal and that they won't favor a specific company.
"DHS will evaluate proposals based on the criteria set forth in the solicitation, and any award decision will be made in accordance with those criteria and all applicable acquisition statutes and regulations," a DHS spokesperson told the Beast. It added that any contractor selected would be “required to perform in accordance with the terms of the contract, applicable law, and Department oversight.”
The Beast questioned that claim, implying it was just another effort by Trump's administration to prop up another costly, underperforming program
