The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) demanded that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) investigate its ‘border czar’, Tom Homan, for allegedly receiving $50,000 in cash as an alleged bribe in exchange for public contracts.
The anti-corruption and non-partisan organization asked the inspector general and the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) to investigate Homan, despite the fact that the Donald Trump Administration closed a criminal investigation that had been opened in the last months of the Joe Biden Administration (2021-2025).
Border czar corruption investigation called for
Tom Homan allegedly accepted a $50,000 cash bribe in a Cava bag.
Pam Bondi’s Justice Department shut down the investigation for unknown reasons.
Cover-up. pic.twitter.com/unFkrsjdEo
– Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryDems) September 23, 2025
“President Trump has opened the door for corruption throughout the Executive branch, where wealthy special interests can exert influence, relationships or, even, cash to make the government work for them,” the CLC said in a statement.
The case began when Homan, who was director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Trump’s first term, received a bag containing $50,000 from undercover FBI agents in Texas in September 2024, during the last presidential campaign, the organization cited.
Homan was not a civil servant at the time, but he was already emerging as a candidate for a top immigration post.
Therefore, the agents posed as businessmen and offered him money in exchange for his help in obtaining contracts related to that field, according to press reports.
The CLC accused the official of hiding the $50,000 from his financial reports despite the fact that the law requires executive officials to disclose their finances.
Buzzy
The group also called for an investigation of Homan’s senior counsel, Mark Hall, for allegedly violating ethics laws by participating in contract decisions at DHS involving his former employer, Charles Sowell and SES Solutions, focused on intelligence and homeland security.
Hall, according to the CLC, published that he received $50,000 in January 2025 from his former employer before joining DHS the following month, where he allegedly helped in a contract fight.
This pronouncement follows a lawsuit filed on October 6 by Democracy Forward, a civilian anti-corruption organization, calling on the Department of Justice and the FBI to comply with the Freedom of Information Act and turn over “expeditiously” all recordings related to the alleged bribery of Homan.
The controversy intensified on October 7, when U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi avoided answering whether Homan had received the bribe or what the status of the investigation was. During a Senate appearance, she urged Democratic senators to direct their questions to the FBI.
“It’s been a month since we learned that the Trump team shut down an investigation into Tom Homan taking a $50,000 bribe and we haven’t seen an ounce of transparency or accountability,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. posted on X.
Filed under: Border czar’s corruption investigation requested
With information from EFE
