Money Grab/Give government contracts to family and donors
ICE commits $1.23B to a contractor whose CEO’s family gave Trump $460,000
CSI Aviation, the largest contractor for ICE deportation flights, saw its ICE obligations rise from $363.9 million to $1.23 billion in the first year of Trump’s second term, a 238% increase. CEO Allen Weh, his wife and daughter gave $460,000 to Trump’s 2024 campaign.
What happened
CSI Aviation, based in Albuquerque, runs domestic and international deportation flights for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. An analysis of USAspending.gov data by POGO Investigates and American University’s Investigative Reporting Workshop, published February 17, 2026, found ICE’s obligations to the company rose from $363.9 million in the year before Trump’s January 20, 2025 inauguration to $1.23 billion in the year after.
The 238% increase made CSI ICE’s largest contractor, while ICE’s total contract spending rose about 69% over the same period. CEO Allen Weh, his wife and his daughter, all CSI corporate officers, gave $460,000 to Trump’s 2024 campaign, and the company hosted a Trump rally days before the election. CSI also lobbied on the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which tripled ICE’s budget.
In March 2025 a CSI subcontractor flew detainees to El Salvador despite a court order. CSI declined to answer House Democrats’ questions about it. CSI’s counsel said any suggestion the donations relate to its contracts is false, noting it served DHS under Biden. ICE said it awards contracts on mission requirements, performance and value.
Who benefited
CSI Aviation’s ICE business more than tripled in a year to $1.23 billion in obligated funds. The gains went to the company, to CEO Allen Weh and to the family members who are its corporate officers, and made CSI the agency’s single largest contractor.
Who wanted something
CSI Aviation was already an ICE contractor when the second term began. Its growth depended on the volume of deportation flights the new administration would order and the budget Congress would give ICE, which CSI lobbied on. Its CEO’s family gave $460,000 to the campaign and the company hosted a rally days before the election.
Who lost out
You paid the $1.23 billion, obligated to a single contractor in one year. The record does not say how much of it was competitively bid. The people on the flights, including those sent to El Salvador in defiance of a court order, bore the human cost.
Why it matters
A contractor whose owners gave Trump $460,000 collected $1.23 billion in public money in the administration’s first year, up 238% from the year before. It lobbied for the law that tripled its customer’s budget. The company says the donations had nothing to do with it. No money went to the Trump family.
Sources POGO Investigates / Investigative Reporting WorkshopDocumentCloud (New Mexico corporate filing) (primary)House Homeland Security Committee Democrats (primary)