Trump's Border Czar Involved in Detention Contract Talks Despite Recusal

Ethics experts say Tom Homan’s participation could violate rules meant to ensure impartiality. The White House says he has not crossed that line.

Earlier this year, as a surge in arrests pushed immigration detention centers across the US to their limits, the Trump administration wanted more jail space. Immigration and Customs Enforcement was leading the way on a $45 billion project to detain more immigrants than ever, but the effort was stalling.

White House border czar Tom Homan, who’d said he was picked to run the biggest deportation operation in US history, helped keep the process going — working to move immigration detention contracts through the Department of Defense.

But Homan wasn't supposed to be involved in contracting at all. Former consulting clients of the border czar were seeking lucrative detention-related work that the administration’s agenda promised. And federal regulations advise those who’ve recently consulted for companies competing for government business not to involve themselves in the contracting process. To quell any concerns, Homan said in December he would recuse himself from anything having to do with government contracts.

In June, it became clear that wasn’t the case. According to a detailed account of a Defense Department meeting that month, a Navy official noted Homan’s participation in a military contracting process, saying the border czar had been “briefed by industry,” government parlance for meeting with private companies seeking contracts. Homan was then expected to discuss the matter with Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, according to the account.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-09-24/trump-s-border-czar-tom-homan-involved-in-detention-contract-talks