Tech, defense and support services companies make millions off new ICE contracts |
In early April, hundreds of military and tech companies exhibited their products at the Border Security Expo, which brought “government leaders, law enforcement officials, and industry innovators” together. During the two-day event in Phoenix, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Acting Director Todd Lyons said he would like ICE to operate more like a business: “like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings.” He added that “the badge and guns” should do “the badge-and-gun stuff, everything else, let’s contract out.”
The event illustrates how companies are rushing to secure government contracts as the Trump administration ramps up its spending on ICE to reach its deportation goals. The House approved a spending bill in early May that sets aside $175 billion for immigration enforcement – about 22 times ICE’s annual budget – and includes $45 billion for detention, $14.4 billion for transportation and removal operations and $8 billion for hiring new ICE staff. The Trump administration ordered DHS to hire an additional 20,000 ICE officers.
OpenSecrets previously reported on the private prisons and air carriers that are poised to benefit from President Donald Trump’s plans to increase deportation. This final article in the series focuses on other for-profit companies – including Palantir, Deployed Resources, General Dynamics and Sig Sauer – benefiting from deportations.
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Democratic leadership profile: Chuck Schumer |
Having served in Congress since 1981, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is one of the longest-tenured lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Only three senators have served longer than Schumer, who has been the top Democrat in the chamber in 2017.
During his tenure as the Democratic leader, he helped pass significant legislation, especially during the Biden administration, such as the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS Act.
But along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D), a fellow New Yorker, Schumer has been criticized by many on the left for not taking a more direct approach to opposing President Donald Trump’s agenda in 2025. In March, prominent progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and party leaders such as Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) criticized them for avoiding a government shutdown by voting for the Republicans’ government funding bill.
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Schumer’s most prominent campaign contributors over the course of his career have been individuals linked to industries in the security and investment fields, as well as law firms. They have donated $19.6 million and over $11.6 million, respectively.
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His top contributors have been employees of, and political action committees associated with, Goldman Sachs ($700,000), Paul Weiss ($680,000), CitiGroup ($590,000), Blackstone Group ($500,000) and JP Morgan Chase ($420,000).
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Paul Weiss recently struck an agreement with the Trump administration after the president targeted several law firms that employ Democrats and others who took part in investigations of Trump during his first term. Paul Weiss was targeted in an executive order on March 14; per the agreement’s terms, the firm will provide $40 million of pro bono work for the administration. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said in a post on social media that “it is an absolute outrage that, to curry favor with Trump and continue making their billions, giant law firms like Paul Weiss have abrogated their responsibilities.” Four partners recently left the firm. Paul Weiss is also a top contributor to Jeffries, the top Democrat in the House.
- Until the 2008 election cycle, some of Schumer’s top contributors were affiliated with other financial firms, including Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, which filed for bankruptcy due to the 2008 financial crisis..
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Between 1997 and 2006, Schumer received money from people related to Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, founded by former NASDAQ Chairman Bernie Madoff, who pleaded guilty to running a Ponzi scheme worth over $60 billion.
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In many of his Senate campaigns, Schumer has significantly outspent his token challenger. In 2004, he raised more than $27 million, while Howard Mills raised only $632,000. Six years later, he raised about $19 million; his challenger, Jay Townsend, took in just $219,000. In 2016, Schumer raised almost $25 million to win his reelection bid, while Republican challenger Wendy Long raised $735,000. Finally, in 2022, Schumer raised over $41 million against the $592,000 raised by his opponent, Joseph Pinion III.
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Schumer has his own Leadership PAC, Impact (Schumer), which has been among the top-five fundraisers among Democratic leadership PACs only once, in 2012, when it raised over $418,000. In 2024, he raised $178,000, its worst total since the 2006 campaign, when he raised $174,000.
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Schumer also has a super PAC. The Senate Majority PAC has spent heavily — over $300 million in the last three election cycles. In 2024, as Democrats sought to retake the majority, the super PAC threw tens of millions of dollars into races across the country, such as Ohio, Pennsylvania and Montana. Sen.Ted Cruz (R-Texas) complained that his party was not following in the Senate Majority PAC’s footsteps, reportedly saying that Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), then the top Republican in the Senate, was “not spending a penny.”
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John Ratcliffe, director of the CIA
- Doug Collins, secretary of veterans affairs
- Hakeem Jeffries, House minority leader
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Lee Zeldin, EPA administrator
- Howard Lutnick, secretary of commerce
- Mike Waltz, national security advisor
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Marco Rubio, secretary of state
- Sean Duffy, secretary of transportation
- Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff
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Tulsi Gabbard, director national intelligence
- Kash Patel, director of the FBI
- Kristi Noem, secretary of homeland security
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of health and human services
- Linda McMahon, secretary of education
- Elise Stefanik, ambassador to the United Nations
- Doug Burgum, secretary of the interior
- Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense
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Pam Bondi, attorney general
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See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week: |
How Elon Musk's Political Donations Compare to Top 10 (Newsweek)
Musk, who owns Tesla and SpaceX, spent almost $100 million more than the second biggest contributor, American businessman Timothy Mellon, and millions more than the other top 10 contributors in 2024, according to data compiled by OpenSecrets. |
Why Voter Turnout Remained Incredibly High in 2024 Election (New York Magazine)
The campaign-finance tracking site OpenSecrets has shown that in inflation-adjusted dollars, total spending has nearly tripled between 2000 and 2024 in both presidential and midterm elections. 2020 was actually the most expensive election ever with $7.7 billion (again, in inflation-adjusted dollars) going into the Trump-Biden race and $10.6 billion devoted to congressional campaigns. |
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