Ethics watchdogs and immigrant rights groups are raising alarms over newly disclosed financial ties between Trump's newly appointed "border czar" Tom Homan and private prison contractor GEO Group, which has secured lucrative government contracts as part of the administration's expanding immigration detention strategy.
According to a federal ethics disclosure filed with the Department of Homeland Security and obtained by The Washington Post, Homan received more than $5,000 in consulting fees from GEO Care-a division of the GEO Group-during the two years prior to joining the Trump administration in January. The form does not detail the nature of Homan's work or specify the total amount received.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told The Post that Homan "abides by the highest ethical standards" and had pledged to recuse himself "from any involvement, discussion, input, or decision of any future government contracts that may be awarded" involving GEO.
Nonetheless, critics say Homan's role in shaping detention policy while having recent financial ties to one of the industry's most prominent beneficiaries poses a serious conflict of interest. "This news raises even more questions, and the corruption concerns are too large to ignore," said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
GEO Group and its rival CoreCivic operate most of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention infrastructure. Under the Trump administration's new immigration enforcement push, ICE plans to grow its detention capacity from roughly 41,500 beds to at least 100,000. GEO has already received contracts this year to reopen facilities in New Jersey and Michigan, projected to bring in $130 million in annual revenue.
GEO chief executive David Donahue described the current environment as "an unprecedented opportunity" to expand the company's operations, telling investors on a May 7 call that the company is "very well positioned" as federal funding grows.
GEO stock has surged 90% since Election Day. The company, based in Boca Raton, Florida, also operates deportation flights and a major surveillance program for immigrants not in custody. At least three GEO executives-Matthew Albence, Daniel Bible, and Daniel Ragsdale-previously held senior ICE roles.
Tom Homan, who served as acting ICE director during Trump's first term, helped implement the controversial "zero tolerance" policy that separated migrant families. After leaving government in 2018, he joined Fox News and the Heritage Foundation and launched Homeland Strategic Consulting. He also helped run Border911, a nonprofit warning of a "crisis" under President Biden's border policies.
Homan's newly disclosed ethics filing, signed in February, identifies his role as "Border Czar, Department of Homeland Security," although in media interviews he has said, "I'll be reporting directly to the president. I'll be in the White House."
Jason Houser, ICE chief of staff from 2021 to 2023, said the revolving door between private prison contractors and government immigration posts is well established. "There is no profit in deportations, only in detention," Houser told The Post. "And that's where the revolving door allows for individuals to cash in."
Jesse Franzblau of the National Immigrant Justice Center added: "The connections of top-level officials to the companies directly profiting from ICE detention expansion is illustrative of the perverse influence the private prison industry has over how our taxpayer dollars are spent."
The GEO Group, through its political arm, contributed $500,000 to Trump's inauguration this year. Attorney General Pam Bondi, who lobbied for GEO in 2019, has faced criticism from Democrats for alleged conflicts of interest. Durbin recently called on Bondi to recuse herself from immigration enforcement matters. DOJ spokesman Gates McGavick dismissed the demand as "an unserious expectation."
