The Department of Homeland Security has replaced the contractor running its flagship self-deportation program following a prolonged corruption scandal, shifting the lucrative deal to a new company this week, The PunchUp reported on Friday.
Federal procurement records show DHS awarded the next phase of Project Homecoming, worth up to $2.062 billion over three years, to Virginia-based Response AI Solutions on Wednesday. The company replaces Salus Worldwide Solutions, founded by 60-year-old former State Department surgeon William Walters III, which had run the program since securing an initial $915 million contract in May 2025.
That original award came together through what a rival bidder called a rigged, lightning-fast process. CSI Aviation sued DHS that August, claiming it was unfairly shut out of competing for the deal. Court records from that lawsuit revealed DHS’s own contracting officer and attorneys had internally flagged the Salus arrangement as creating an “appearance of impropriety,” particularly since the company had no prior experience as a lead federal contractor. Internal records also showed the DHS division overseeing the contract was led by a former colleague of Walters’s from his State Department days, who held off-site meetings at Salus’s offices before the award went through and personally congratulated Walters afterward.
Walters has defended the process publicly, maintaining the competition was fair and that Salus simply offered the strongest technical proposal at the lowest price.
The company’s troubles deepened when a Salus representative was accused of trying to arrange kickbacks for Corey Lewandowski, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem’s top adviser and rumored romantic partner, tied to a separate $20 million contract. Lewandowski is now under federal investigation over how DHS deals were awarded during Noem’s tenure, before Trump fired both Noem and Lewandowski in March. Notably, another Walters-linked company held the contract for the so-called “Mile High Boudoir Jet” associated with the pair’s alleged relationship. A spokesperson for Lewandowski has denied any wrongdoing.
Salus received an additional $200 million from DHS in June to stay on the job for another half-year stretch, a decision that came despite internal documents suggesting the firm had already spent down most of its original budget without much to show for it. Salus has consistently denied any illegality, describing its work as helping DHS carry out Project Homecoming “safely, and with dignity for all.”
The writing was on the wall once current DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin decided to reopen the contract for competition, a move one source described as an effort to “un-fuck the entire mess.” Salus briefly faced administrative dissolution in Virginia the following month after failing to file routine corporate paperwork, and has since drawn growing scrutiny from Capitol Hill. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson called for a formal investigation into both DHS and Salus in August, after leaked data suggested roughly half of the “voluntary” departures the company claimed credit for actually involved migrants who were already in ICE custody.
DHS has not publicly explained why Salus lost the contract, and the department and company have not responded to requests for comment.
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