- Oct 17, 2011
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Earlier this year, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) handed a massive aviation contract, potentially worth nearly $1 billion, to a relatively new company with no federal contracting experience, following an opaque and seemingly hurried process.
The deal has sparked criticism from a rival contractor in a scathing lawsuit, and records obtained by Mother Jones reveal the extensive involvement of a senior DHS official who formerly worked with the winning company’s CEO. The lawsuit alleges the contract was “unlawful, rushed, and noncompetitive.” As the Trump administration pours billions of dollars into DHS for its crackdown on undocumented immigrations, the contract adds to a growing number of deals that have prompted questions about the integrity of DHS contracting.
The three-year deal to fly migrants back to their home countries went to Salus Worldwide Solutions, a company founded by a former State Department official named William Walters.
But if the plan takes off, this program could prove extremely lucrative for Salus, a firm that appears to have only a handful of employees and was launched in 2023 by Walters, a former Army medical officer. A federal contracting website describes Salus as a “Women Owned Business.” The company did not respond to questions about the basis for that claim, but on October 2, days after Mother Jones asked about it, Salus' federal contractor registration was updated to remove that description.
The Salus contract has an unusual history. A person familiar with the process said the department originally planned on awarding the deal to the company without competition, but DHS eventually opened it up to bidding for two business days, which a competitor’s lawsuit called “an impossibly short” period.
In a legal protest filed in August in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, CSI Aviation, a longtime federal contractor that missed out on the large contract, charged that DHS had “foreclosed fair competition by secretly inviting only hand-picked vendors” in a process that excluded CSI.
The department declined to address questions about the Salus contract.
“DHS will not comment on pre-decisional procurement matters, nor will the Department speculate on contractor motivations or individual political views,” the spokesperson said. “All DHS acquisitions are subject to applicable federal procurement laws and oversight, which ensure transparency, competition, and the prudent use of taxpayer funds.”
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As for the program itself to help people self-deport with $1,000 and a free plane ride...
He spoke about a phone app where “illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country.” And he dangled other incentives: Eligible immigrants wouldn’t be barred from returning legally to the U.S. someday, and they’d even get a $1,000 “exit bonus.” Believing the president’s words, Pérez downloaded the CBP Home app and registered to return to Venezuela with her children.
Months passed. Her partner was deported. In July, Pérez said, she got a call from someone in the CBP Home program telling her she’d be on a flight out of the country in mid-August. She began packing.
But as the departure date neared and the plane tickets hadn’t arrived, Pérez got nervous. Again and again, she called the toll-free number she’d been given. Finally, somebody called back to say there might be a delay obtaining the documents she’d need to travel to Venezuela.
[since then, no news]
Today, Pérez feels trapped in a country that doesn’t want her. She’s afraid of leaving her apartment, afraid that she will be detained and that her children will be taken away from her. “I feel so scared, always looking around in every direction,” she said. “I was trying to leave voluntarily, like the president said.”
[Talking to others in this situation] Before their departure dates came and went, they had made preparations to leave — turning over the keys to their apartments, pulling their children from school, shipping their belongings to Venezuela. And they have sunk deeper into poverty as the weeks and months pass.
In Los Angeles, a family of four slept in their tiny Toyota Echo for weeks to save on rent as they waited for their departure date. They sold the car and other belongings to pay for bus tickets back the way they’d come. Nearly two months after their return to Venezuela, they said they’re still waiting for the exit bonuses they’d hoped would help them start over.
Several immigration attorneys and advocates told ProPublica that they don’t trust the CBP Home app or the Trump administration’s promises to help immigrants self-deport.
[Government data suggests some 12,500 have received the free travel and money and self-deported.]
The deal has sparked criticism from a rival contractor in a scathing lawsuit, and records obtained by Mother Jones reveal the extensive involvement of a senior DHS official who formerly worked with the winning company’s CEO. The lawsuit alleges the contract was “unlawful, rushed, and noncompetitive.” As the Trump administration pours billions of dollars into DHS for its crackdown on undocumented immigrations, the contract adds to a growing number of deals that have prompted questions about the integrity of DHS contracting.
The three-year deal to fly migrants back to their home countries went to Salus Worldwide Solutions, a company founded by a former State Department official named William Walters.
But if the plan takes off, this program could prove extremely lucrative for Salus, a firm that appears to have only a handful of employees and was launched in 2023 by Walters, a former Army medical officer. A federal contracting website describes Salus as a “Women Owned Business.” The company did not respond to questions about the basis for that claim, but on October 2, days after Mother Jones asked about it, Salus' federal contractor registration was updated to remove that description.
The Salus contract has an unusual history. A person familiar with the process said the department originally planned on awarding the deal to the company without competition, but DHS eventually opened it up to bidding for two business days, which a competitor’s lawsuit called “an impossibly short” period.
In a legal protest filed in August in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, CSI Aviation, a longtime federal contractor that missed out on the large contract, charged that DHS had “foreclosed fair competition by secretly inviting only hand-picked vendors” in a process that excluded CSI.
The department declined to address questions about the Salus contract.
“DHS will not comment on pre-decisional procurement matters, nor will the Department speculate on contractor motivations or individual political views,” the spokesperson said. “All DHS acquisitions are subject to applicable federal procurement laws and oversight, which ensure transparency, competition, and the prudent use of taxpayer funds.”
--
As for the program itself to help people self-deport with $1,000 and a free plane ride...
“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America
“We are making it as easy as possible for illegal aliens to leave America,” the president said in a video on social media in May announcing the launch of Project Homecoming.He spoke about a phone app where “illegals can book a free flight to any foreign country.” And he dangled other incentives: Eligible immigrants wouldn’t be barred from returning legally to the U.S. someday, and they’d even get a $1,000 “exit bonus.” Believing the president’s words, Pérez downloaded the CBP Home app and registered to return to Venezuela with her children.
Months passed. Her partner was deported. In July, Pérez said, she got a call from someone in the CBP Home program telling her she’d be on a flight out of the country in mid-August. She began packing.
But as the departure date neared and the plane tickets hadn’t arrived, Pérez got nervous. Again and again, she called the toll-free number she’d been given. Finally, somebody called back to say there might be a delay obtaining the documents she’d need to travel to Venezuela.
[since then, no news]
Today, Pérez feels trapped in a country that doesn’t want her. She’s afraid of leaving her apartment, afraid that she will be detained and that her children will be taken away from her. “I feel so scared, always looking around in every direction,” she said. “I was trying to leave voluntarily, like the president said.”
[Talking to others in this situation] Before their departure dates came and went, they had made preparations to leave — turning over the keys to their apartments, pulling their children from school, shipping their belongings to Venezuela. And they have sunk deeper into poverty as the weeks and months pass.
In Los Angeles, a family of four slept in their tiny Toyota Echo for weeks to save on rent as they waited for their departure date. They sold the car and other belongings to pay for bus tickets back the way they’d come. Nearly two months after their return to Venezuela, they said they’re still waiting for the exit bonuses they’d hoped would help them start over.
Several immigration attorneys and advocates told ProPublica that they don’t trust the CBP Home app or the Trump administration’s promises to help immigrants self-deport.
[Government data suggests some 12,500 have received the free travel and money and self-deported.]
