John Kelly, the former White House chief of staff and so-called “grown-up in the room,” is cashing in after his stint babysitting Donald Trump. The onetime Department of Homeland Security director is going back to his immigration detaining roots, joining the board of directors for Caliburn International, which operates the largest detention facilities for unaccompanied migrant children. Those detentions are a direct result of policies crafted by Kelly during his time at DHS and the White House. From CBS News:
During Kelly's tenure, the administration pursued ambitious changes to immigration enforcement, and the average length of stay for an unaccompanied migrant child in U.S. custody skyrocketed.
In the past year, Comprehensive Health Services, the only private company operating shelters, became one of the most dominant players in the industry. Last August, it secured three licenses for facilities in Texas, totaling 500 beds, and in December, the Homestead facility began expanding from a capacity of 1,250 beds to 3,200.
Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor, told CBS the move is likely legal, but it sure stinks to high heaven.
"It sounds like he's running between the raindrops. It doesn't sound great, but most likely he's not directly violating any policies," Briffault told CBS News. Briffault said government officials are barred from benefiting from their involvement in matters that involve specific parties, meaning that while serving at the White House, Kelly could not directly influence any decision to award a contract to a DC Capital company.
Another ethics expert isn’t quite as convinced.
Delaney Marsco, ethics counsel at the nonprofit Campaign Legal Center, said her first question would be to ask whether Kelly ever consulted ethics officials about any involvement in formulating any policies surrounding unaccompanied minors.
"The fact is that when he was in the White House, the government took action that swelled the population of people that were in these facilities, and that benefited his former employer. That's the exact kind of situation that is why we have the ethics clause," Marsco said.
It remains unclear how John Kelly sleeps at night, but apparently he will be slumbering on a bed stuffed full of cash.