Tom Homan, one of the top officials behind the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, is facing questions after it was revealed he was paid by a private prison company that stands to profit from the government’s detention policies.
Trump’s “Border Czar” in January, Homan received more than $5,000 in consulting fees from GEO Care, a division of GEO Group, one of the largest private companies running immigration detention centers.
Homan has said he’ll stay out of any decisions involving GEO Group. But his past ties raise red flags, especially since he’s been pushing to double the number of people held in immigration detention, from 41,500 to 100,000. That plan lines up with a new Republican bill that sets aside over $150 billion to expand immigration enforcement over the next five years, including money for more detention centers.
The problem isn’t just the money, it’s the revolving door between government officials and private companies that profit from policies they help shape. When former officials take jobs with detention contractors, or vice versa, it creates a system where public policy is shaped by private profit, not public good.
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