Trump Allies Circulate Mass Deportation Plan Calling for ‘Processing Camps’ and a Private Citizen ‘Army’

A group of prominent military contractors, including former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince, has pitched the Trump White House on a proposal to carry out mass deportations through a network of “processing camps” on military bases, a private fleet of 100 planes, and a “small army” of private citizens empowered to make arrests.

The blueprint — laid out in a 26-page document President Donald Trump’s advisers received before the inauguration — carries an estimated price tag of $25 billion and recommends a range of aggressive tactics to rapidly deport 12 million people before the 2026 midterms, including some that would likely face legal and operational challenges, according to a copy obtained by POLITICO.

The group, which includes some former immigration officials, is led by Prince, who has close ties to Trump, and Bill Mathews, the former chief operating officer of Blackwater, the military contractor known for its role in providing security, training and logistical support to U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan during the war on terror.

The emergence of the proposal, marked “unsolicited,” is indicative of the major hurdles the administration faces as it struggles to find the resources to fulfill Trump’s ambitious deportation agenda. The administration’s desire to make good on that signature campaign promise has created an opening for private contractors who see a rare area in which the Trump administration is likely to increase spending.

Deporting 12 million people in two years “would require the government to eject nearly 500,000 illegal aliens per month,” the document says. “To keep pace with the Trump deportations, it would require a 600% increase in activity. It is unlikely that the government could swell its internal ranks to keep pace with this demand …in order to process this enormous number of deportations, the government should enlist outside assistance.”

Top White House officials are having multiple conversations with military contractors, coinciding with Republicans’ mad dash on Capitol Hill to secure more resources for the president’s immigration crackdown. Immigration and Customs Enforcement increased arrests during Trump’s first couple of weeks in office, but the pace has since slowed, and arrests do not always equal deportations. The pressure campaign to rapidly increase the president’s deportation numbers has already resulted in the reassigning of top immigration officials as the administration faces a number of resource challenges, including a need for detention capacity and additional personnel.

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{snip} The proposal recommends the formation of a screening team of 2,000 attorneys and paralegals — one of the several elements designed to streamline functions that would normally be in the government’s hands. The team would determine whether individuals are eligible for deportation and refer them to the litigation team, for which the proposals recommend an additional 2,000 attorneys and paralegals to conduct mass hearings.

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But these plans could face steep legal challenges on a number of fronts, threatening due process and ignoring existing protections established by Congress, including statutes and regulations for maintaining privacy protections for migrants claiming asylum, said John Sandweg, acting director of ICE from 2013-2014.

The group also proposes forming a “Skip Tracing Team” to use existing records to locate deportees, while sponsoring a “bounty program which provides a cash reward for each illegal alien held by a state or local law enforcement officer.” That, too, could present potential legal hurdles, because local officers in many cities and states do not have agreements to act as immigration officers.

The proposal notes that it is “unlikely that the government could apprehend all of the 12m illegal aliens without outside assistance,” and suggest deputizing 10,000 private citizens, including military veterans, former law enforcement officials and retired ICE and CBP officers, giving them expedited training and the same federal law enforcement powers of immigration officials. The document says after the border deputies are trained, they will be under Homan’s command.

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Prince and Mathews use the first several pages of the proposal to address why the White House should consider their bid, echoing Trump’s rhetoric, including unsubstantiated claims that Democrats have used immigration to gain an electoral advantage, that migrants commit more violent crime, and that illegal immigration has placed “unimaginable burdens” on state welfare systems, public education systems and country’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 wrote.