Documents show military contractors' ambitions to control mass deportations
The group, spearheaded by Blackwater veteran Erik Prince, has strong connections to Trump.
TroibNews 
A group of influential military contractors, led by former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, has presented a proposal to the Trump administration aimed at executing mass deportations through a series of “processing camps” located on military bases, a private fleet comprising 100 aircraft, and a “small army” of private citizens empowered to make arrests.
This plan, detailed in a 26-page document received by President Donald Trump’s advisers prior to his inauguration, is estimated to cost $25 billion and suggests a variety of aggressive methods to deport 12 million individuals ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Some proposed tactics are likely to encounter legal and operational obstacles, as indicated by a copy of the document reviewed by PMG.
Prince, who maintains close connections to Trump, leads this group that includes former immigration officials and Bill Mathews, the ex-chief operating officer of Blackwater, a military contractor known for its services in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.
The proposal, marked as "unsolicited," highlights the significant challenges the administration faces in finding the necessary resources to fulfill Trump’s ambitious deportation agenda. The administration's commitment to this central campaign promise has opened opportunities for private contractors, who see potential for increased spending from the Trump administration.
According to the document, deporting 12 million individuals within two years "would require the government to eject nearly 500,000 illegal aliens per month." It notes that "to keep pace with the Trump deportations, it would require a 600% increase in activity," suggesting that the government would struggle to expand its workforce to meet such demands and would need to seek external assistance to handle the massive volume of deportations.
Discussions between senior White House officials and military contractors are occurring in parallel with Republicans’ efforts on Capitol Hill to secure additional resources for the president's immigration enforcement initiatives. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramped up arrests in the early days of Trump's presidency, the pace has since slowed, and arrests do not always lead to deportations. The drive to significantly raise deportation numbers has already resulted in the reassignment of several immigration officials amid ongoing resource challenges, including the need for detention capacity and personnel.
"People want this stood up quickly, and understand the government is always very slow to do things," Steve Bannon, a former advisor to Trump, stated, acknowledging awareness of the proposal. "It’s smart to start bidding out right now and get a feel for what else outside companies, contractors can do."
It remains unclear whether Trump has directly seen the plan, which has been shared among his allies since December. He had made a commitment to commence mass deportations on his first day in office, a promise that remains unfulfilled.
White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that the administration “remains aligned on and committed to a whole-of-government approach to securing our borders, mass deporting criminal illegal migrants, and enforcing our immigration laws.” He added, “While White House officials receive numerous unsolicited proposals from various private sector players, it is ultimately up to the agencies responsible for carrying out the President’s agenda to consider and sign contracts to advance their mission.”
In response to inquiries, Mathews told PMG, “We have not been contacted by, nor have we had any discussions with, the government since the White Paper that we submitted months ago. There has been zero show of interest or engagement from the government and we have no reason to believe there will be.”
Prince opted not to comment, and other contractors and former immigration officials mentioned in the document also chose not to provide comments or could not be reached.
The founders of a newly established entity, 2USV, have extensive experience with the U.S. government. Blackwater was founded by Prince in 1996 to deliver training to law enforcement and military personnel. The company gained notoriety for its activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it provided security services to U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics arguing its prominence stemmed from the U.S. military's expansion in the Middle East.
Blackwater attracted scrutiny in 2007 after the Nisour Square Massacre, where contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured 20 others, raising concerns regarding oversight and accountability of private contractors. Following the incident, several contractors faced manslaughter charges, with four convicted in 2014. Trump issued pardons to them in December 2020.
This pardon exemplified the influence of Prince's family during Trump’s first term. Betsy DeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s Secretary of Education, while Prince utilized his connections with Trump to pursue business opportunities domestically and internationally.
In 2018, he reportedly assisted in fundraising for an initiative aimed at surveilling progressive and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump. Prince also contributed to the 2019 effort led by Bannon to privately construct a wall along the U.S. southern border. Additionally, in 2020, he proposed a $10 billion plan to engage with Ukraine’s military-industrial sector and recruit Ukrainian combat veterans for a private military company.
The latest proposal consistently emphasizes the federal government’s lack of resources to meet the president’s objectives, offering a detailed plan for bolstering immigration enforcement capability. It includes contracting a team to identify deportable migrants and deploying a fleet of 100 aircraft for “two years to clear the illegal population out of the nation.”
However, the push for swift deportations features numerous suggestions that seem to overlook critical aspects of the United States' complex immigration laws, as assessed by three former immigration and government officials who reviewed the proposal for PMG. Recommendations include establishing a screening team of 2,000 attorneys and paralegals to expedite deportation eligibility assessments and mass hearings handled by an additional 2,000 attorneys and paralegals.
“To work through the deportation process expeditiously, 2USV recommends that the government conduct mass deportation hearings,” the document asserts, proposing a new legal process lacking judicial precedent.
The authors propose maintaining due process by creating a public database to notify individuals about their immigration court hearings, instead of using a traditional Notice to Appear, which instructs individuals to meet with an immigration judge.
Such plans could face significant legal obstacles, as they risk infringing on due process and ignoring existing protections established by Congress for asylum seekers, according to John Sandweg, acting director of ICE from 2013-2014.
The proposal also suggests assembling a “Skip Tracing Team” to locate deportees using existing records and sponsoring a “bounty program” that incentivizes local law enforcement to apprehend illegal aliens. This idea poses potential legal concerns, as many local law enforcement agencies lack agreements to act in roles typically reserved for immigration enforcement.
The document notes, “it is unlikely that the government could apprehend all of the 12m illegal aliens without outside assistance,” proposing the deputization of 10,000 private citizens—including military veterans, former law enforcement officers, and retired ICE and CBP personnel—who would receive expedited training and the same powers as federal immigration officials. Post-training, these border deputies would work under the command of Thomas Homan, former acting ICE director.
“I don’t see how you could do private sector, deputized law enforcement officers,” Sandweg commented. “That’s subject to an immediate injunction by a court.”
The proposal outlines how contractors would detain and repatriate individuals, stating they currently have access to 49 planes ready for deployment. It also lists U.S. Army installations as ideal locations for establishing “temporary camps,” which they claim could be operational in under a week. Since the proposal was made, the Trump administration has explored using military sites for holding undocumented immigrants across the nation, although there’s no evidence of any connection to Prince’s group.
“The management team of 2USV includes individuals and companies that specialize in erecting temporary housing facilities,” the document states. “In fact, this group has erected temporary camps for incoming Afghan refugees and for the US CBP.”
However, expanding this operation would require considerably more resources, and the proposal fails to address many logistical challenges it would encounter, according to Jason P. Houser, former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration. He estimates the effort would cost around $80 billion and highlights the uncertainty regarding other countries' willingness to accept repatriation flights at such a high volume, along with political risks associated with the initiative.
“The idea of forcibly removing 12 million people from the United States is not just operationally impossible — it is a moral and economic catastrophe in the making,” Houser warned.
Should the Trump administration pursue this proposal, the group would enter an already established and competitive network of contractors utilized by ICE. However, regulations exist to ensure the government effectively uses taxpayer money. Prince’s proposal aims to undertake the entire mass deportation operation without a competitive bidding process, potentially leveraging a national emergency declaration to bypass such protocols.
In addition to Prince and Mathews, other significant personnel identified in the document include former immigration officials and military contractors: retired ICE officials Robert Alfieri and Michael Somers; Dirk Totten, a decorated Army officer and former executive vice president for Gulfstream; Richard Pere, an experienced military contractor and aviation expert associated with Blackwater; Ken Chavez, the police chief in Severance, Colorado; Louis Gobern, a military contractor with close ties to the Defense Department; and Douglas Brennan, who has worked with the U.S. government and launched several billion-dollar aviation firms.
Prince and Mathews dedicate the initial pages of the proposal to elucidating why the White House should endorse their bid, mirroring Trump’s assertions, including unfounded claims that Democrats exploit immigration for electoral gains, that migrants are responsible for higher rates of violent crime, and that illegal immigration imposes “unimaginable burdens” on state welfare systems, public education, and the nation’s economy.
“In order to save the U.S. economy, the nation has to eject as many of these illegal aliens as quickly as possible,” they conclude.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
This plan, detailed in a 26-page document received by President Donald Trump’s advisers prior to his inauguration, is estimated to cost $25 billion and suggests a variety of aggressive methods to deport 12 million individuals ahead of the 2026 midterm elections. Some proposed tactics are likely to encounter legal and operational obstacles, as indicated by a copy of the document reviewed by PMG.
Prince, who maintains close connections to Trump, leads this group that includes former immigration officials and Bill Mathews, the ex-chief operating officer of Blackwater, a military contractor known for its services in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.
The proposal, marked as "unsolicited," highlights the significant challenges the administration faces in finding the necessary resources to fulfill Trump’s ambitious deportation agenda. The administration's commitment to this central campaign promise has opened opportunities for private contractors, who see potential for increased spending from the Trump administration.
According to the document, deporting 12 million individuals within two years "would require the government to eject nearly 500,000 illegal aliens per month." It notes that "to keep pace with the Trump deportations, it would require a 600% increase in activity," suggesting that the government would struggle to expand its workforce to meet such demands and would need to seek external assistance to handle the massive volume of deportations.
Discussions between senior White House officials and military contractors are occurring in parallel with Republicans’ efforts on Capitol Hill to secure additional resources for the president's immigration enforcement initiatives. While Immigration and Customs Enforcement ramped up arrests in the early days of Trump's presidency, the pace has since slowed, and arrests do not always lead to deportations. The drive to significantly raise deportation numbers has already resulted in the reassignment of several immigration officials amid ongoing resource challenges, including the need for detention capacity and personnel.
"People want this stood up quickly, and understand the government is always very slow to do things," Steve Bannon, a former advisor to Trump, stated, acknowledging awareness of the proposal. "It’s smart to start bidding out right now and get a feel for what else outside companies, contractors can do."
It remains unclear whether Trump has directly seen the plan, which has been shared among his allies since December. He had made a commitment to commence mass deportations on his first day in office, a promise that remains unfulfilled.
White House spokesman Kush Desai stated that the administration “remains aligned on and committed to a whole-of-government approach to securing our borders, mass deporting criminal illegal migrants, and enforcing our immigration laws.” He added, “While White House officials receive numerous unsolicited proposals from various private sector players, it is ultimately up to the agencies responsible for carrying out the President’s agenda to consider and sign contracts to advance their mission.”
In response to inquiries, Mathews told PMG, “We have not been contacted by, nor have we had any discussions with, the government since the White Paper that we submitted months ago. There has been zero show of interest or engagement from the government and we have no reason to believe there will be.”
Prince opted not to comment, and other contractors and former immigration officials mentioned in the document also chose not to provide comments or could not be reached.
The founders of a newly established entity, 2USV, have extensive experience with the U.S. government. Blackwater was founded by Prince in 1996 to deliver training to law enforcement and military personnel. The company gained notoriety for its activities in Iraq and Afghanistan, where it provided security services to U.S. officials and military personnel, with critics arguing its prominence stemmed from the U.S. military's expansion in the Middle East.
Blackwater attracted scrutiny in 2007 after the Nisour Square Massacre, where contractors killed 17 Iraqi civilians and injured 20 others, raising concerns regarding oversight and accountability of private contractors. Following the incident, several contractors faced manslaughter charges, with four convicted in 2014. Trump issued pardons to them in December 2020.
This pardon exemplified the influence of Prince's family during Trump’s first term. Betsy DeVos, Prince’s sister, served as the president’s Secretary of Education, while Prince utilized his connections with Trump to pursue business opportunities domestically and internationally.
In 2018, he reportedly assisted in fundraising for an initiative aimed at surveilling progressive and Democratic organizations opposed to Trump. Prince also contributed to the 2019 effort led by Bannon to privately construct a wall along the U.S. southern border. Additionally, in 2020, he proposed a $10 billion plan to engage with Ukraine’s military-industrial sector and recruit Ukrainian combat veterans for a private military company.
The latest proposal consistently emphasizes the federal government’s lack of resources to meet the president’s objectives, offering a detailed plan for bolstering immigration enforcement capability. It includes contracting a team to identify deportable migrants and deploying a fleet of 100 aircraft for “two years to clear the illegal population out of the nation.”
However, the push for swift deportations features numerous suggestions that seem to overlook critical aspects of the United States' complex immigration laws, as assessed by three former immigration and government officials who reviewed the proposal for PMG. Recommendations include establishing a screening team of 2,000 attorneys and paralegals to expedite deportation eligibility assessments and mass hearings handled by an additional 2,000 attorneys and paralegals.
“To work through the deportation process expeditiously, 2USV recommends that the government conduct mass deportation hearings,” the document asserts, proposing a new legal process lacking judicial precedent.
The authors propose maintaining due process by creating a public database to notify individuals about their immigration court hearings, instead of using a traditional Notice to Appear, which instructs individuals to meet with an immigration judge.
Such plans could face significant legal obstacles, as they risk infringing on due process and ignoring existing protections established by Congress for asylum seekers, according to John Sandweg, acting director of ICE from 2013-2014.
The proposal also suggests assembling a “Skip Tracing Team” to locate deportees using existing records and sponsoring a “bounty program” that incentivizes local law enforcement to apprehend illegal aliens. This idea poses potential legal concerns, as many local law enforcement agencies lack agreements to act in roles typically reserved for immigration enforcement.
The document notes, “it is unlikely that the government could apprehend all of the 12m illegal aliens without outside assistance,” proposing the deputization of 10,000 private citizens—including military veterans, former law enforcement officers, and retired ICE and CBP personnel—who would receive expedited training and the same powers as federal immigration officials. Post-training, these border deputies would work under the command of Thomas Homan, former acting ICE director.
“I don’t see how you could do private sector, deputized law enforcement officers,” Sandweg commented. “That’s subject to an immediate injunction by a court.”
The proposal outlines how contractors would detain and repatriate individuals, stating they currently have access to 49 planes ready for deployment. It also lists U.S. Army installations as ideal locations for establishing “temporary camps,” which they claim could be operational in under a week. Since the proposal was made, the Trump administration has explored using military sites for holding undocumented immigrants across the nation, although there’s no evidence of any connection to Prince’s group.
“The management team of 2USV includes individuals and companies that specialize in erecting temporary housing facilities,” the document states. “In fact, this group has erected temporary camps for incoming Afghan refugees and for the US CBP.”
However, expanding this operation would require considerably more resources, and the proposal fails to address many logistical challenges it would encounter, according to Jason P. Houser, former ICE chief of staff during the Biden administration. He estimates the effort would cost around $80 billion and highlights the uncertainty regarding other countries' willingness to accept repatriation flights at such a high volume, along with political risks associated with the initiative.
“The idea of forcibly removing 12 million people from the United States is not just operationally impossible — it is a moral and economic catastrophe in the making,” Houser warned.
Should the Trump administration pursue this proposal, the group would enter an already established and competitive network of contractors utilized by ICE. However, regulations exist to ensure the government effectively uses taxpayer money. Prince’s proposal aims to undertake the entire mass deportation operation without a competitive bidding process, potentially leveraging a national emergency declaration to bypass such protocols.
In addition to Prince and Mathews, other significant personnel identified in the document include former immigration officials and military contractors: retired ICE officials Robert Alfieri and Michael Somers; Dirk Totten, a decorated Army officer and former executive vice president for Gulfstream; Richard Pere, an experienced military contractor and aviation expert associated with Blackwater; Ken Chavez, the police chief in Severance, Colorado; Louis Gobern, a military contractor with close ties to the Defense Department; and Douglas Brennan, who has worked with the U.S. government and launched several billion-dollar aviation firms.
Prince and Mathews dedicate the initial pages of the proposal to elucidating why the White House should endorse their bid, mirroring Trump’s assertions, including unfounded claims that Democrats exploit immigration for electoral gains, that migrants are responsible for higher rates of violent crime, and that illegal immigration imposes “unimaginable burdens” on state welfare systems, public education, and the nation’s economy.
“In order to save the U.S. economy, the nation has to eject as many of these illegal aliens as quickly as possible,” they conclude.
Ramin Sohrabi for TROIB News
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