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A Donald Trump official who promoted birther lies and bemoaned the “Zimbabwe-fication of America” has been made the public face of the Department of Homeland Security’s multibillion-dollar attempt to rebuild its flailing self-deportation program, PunchUp can reveal.
Frank Wuco, a senior adviser to the DHS undersecretary for management, Brian Cavanaugh, opened an August 12 briefing for companies seeking to replace the contractor behind Project Homecoming. The self-proclaimed “cornerstone” of President Donald Trump’s mass-deportation drive offers migrants cash and free flights to leave the U.S.
In May 2025, DHS awarded the existing $915 million contract to Salus Worldwide Solutions—a company founded and led by Trump crony and former State Department surgeon William Walters III—despite its having existed for only two years and never having led a government contract. PunchUp reported that DHS had been forced to add a $200 million six-month extension after Salus burned through its money in a year. Departmental insiders have told us Salus is “unlikely” to win the $2.34 billion recompetition.
Now our revelation of Wuco’s role in finding its replacement—having been labeled by New York Magazine one of “Trump’s Greatest Worst Hits” of his early first-term appointments—has added another bizarre twist to the ongoing saga.