A company with an Alexandria address has secured $142.8 million of a $220 million Department of Homeland Security contract to produce advertisements promoting President Donald Trump’s immigration policies — the most expensive ad campaign of the year.
Safe America Media LLC was incorporated in Delaware on Feb. 6, just eight days before the Feb. 14 contract award, and lists an address on Richmond Highway that carries an Alexandria mailing address but is located in Fairfax County, according to records reviewed by The Associated Press in March. The property is owned by Mike McElwain, a Republican consultant and partner at DMM Media, which is registered in Virginia as Designated Market Media, Inc., according to State Corporation Commission records.
The company has been awarded three task orders totaling $142.8 million: $62.8 million for the initial “Stronger Borders, Stronger America” campaign, $65 million for a follow-on domestic campaign, and $15 million for an Immigration and Customs Enforcement recruitment campaign. Safe America Media is working alongside People Who Think LLC, a Mandeville, Louisiana-based firm, to create ads featuring Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem urging undocumented immigrants to self-deport.
DHS has spent at least $51 million this year on the campaign, surpassing the $41 million California redistricting measure as 2025’s biggest ad spender, according to AdImpact data reported by Axios.
Safe America Media was incorporated shortly before receiving the contract. At the time of the contract award, the company did not appear in SAM.gov, the official government system for contractor registration, according to a March 21 letter from House Democratic lawmakers to Secretary Noem. Federal contracting database HigherGov lists the company’s headquarters as Alexandria with no public vendor contacts. Neither McElwain nor Safe America Media representatives responded to requests for comment from news outlets.
The contract was awarded Feb. 13 to People Who Think and Feb. 14 to Safe America Media, just three days after DHS first solicited bids, according to the Congressional letter. DHS used expedited procurement procedures, citing “unusual and compelling urgency” related to Trump’s declaration of a national emergency at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to contract documents. Federal acquisition regulations permit agencies to use expedited procedures when standard competitive bidding timelines would cause delays that could harm government interests.
DHS narrowed its search to four companies specializing in hyper-targeted media services that could work immediately, according to contract documents. The department said the urgency stemmed from the need to communicate with undocumented immigrants about enforcement policies and counter what it described as misinformation. “Any delay in providing these critical communications to the public will increase the spread of misinformation,” the contract document states.
McElwain lists his location as New Alexandria on LinkedIn and served as political director for the National Republican Congressional Committee during multiple election cycles in the 2000s, according to his LinkedIn profile. DMM Media, described as “one of the most successful GOP firms in the country” in past campaign announcements, specializes in television, radio and digital advertising for Republican candidates. McElwain previously worked as deputy political director for the Colorado Republican Party and managed state legislative races in Virginia and Texas, according to his background.
“President Trump” is the most frequently mentioned phrase across all advertisements, according to Axios. Three ads conclude with: “Thank you, President Donald J. Trump for securing our border and putting America first.”
At the Conservative Political Action Conference in February, Noem said Trump personally directed the campaign, according to media reports. “He said, ‘I want the first ad, I want you to thank me. I want you to thank me for closing the border.’ I said, ‘Yes, sir. I will thank you for closing the border,” Noem told the audience.
DHS maintains the ads are public service announcements. “[T]his isn’t a political ad — this is a public service announcement urging illegal aliens to leave,” Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to Axios.
The campaign is airing nationally on broadcast television, online platforms, and in select local TV markets. Fox News Channel has aired approximately $9 million worth of content, making it the largest broadcaster of DHS ads, according to Axios. Morning programs, including “Today,” “CBS Morning,” and “Good Morning America,” have seen significant spending. Recent airings during Mexican soccer league broadcasts, Fox’s “The Five” and Univision’s “Despierta America” have featured the most ads, according to Axios.
DHS planned to spend $3.3 million through March, including $30,000 for West Palm Beach, Florida, from Feb. 25 to March 5 — when Trump was reportedly in the area, according to the Congressional letter. Some Democrats questioned the geographic targeting of the ads.
Digital advertising targets users interested in Mexican pop music, Latin music, the Mexican Grand Prix, Latin cuisine, and the Mexican national soccer team, according to Meta’s ad library data. The ads target Spanish speakers but are produced in English with Spanish subtitles. California and Texas have seen the most Google ad spending, though the campaign runs nationwide.
People Who Think is owned by Jay Connaughton, who served as media adviser for Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, according to Semafor. Connaughton also worked with Corey Lewandowski — a former Trump campaign manager who is now a temporary DHS employee, according to Semafor — on Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry’s Republican gubernatorial campaign in October 2023.
A DHS spokesperson said “multiple career government officials” oversaw the procurement process and Lewandowski was not involved. The spokesperson said the department followed a competitive process in selecting the vendors, though expedited procurement procedures were used.
DHS has maintained that the campaign serves a legitimate public safety purpose by informing undocumented immigrants about enforcement policies and encouraging voluntary departure, which the department says reduces costs and humanitarian concerns associated with enforcement operations.
House Democratic lawmakers launched an investigation in March, with Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., sending a letter to Noem on March 21 questioning the legality and intent behind the spending. Connolly died May 21, 2025.
The lawmakers said the campaign was initiated at Trump’s direction and involved “significant sums” to produce ads that “lauded the President’s draconian immigration policies,” according to the Congressional letter. They raised concerns about potential violations of federal spending rules and questioned whether the ads were meant “to function as an extension of President Trump’s campaign and to pander to the President.”
The lawmakers requested extensive documentation by April 4. Thompson raised questions about DHS leadership during May budget testimony before the House Homeland Security Committee. The status of the Congressional inquiry and whether DHS provided the requested documentation is unclear.
The highest-spending active political candidate this cycle is Democratic gubernatorial nominee Abigail Spanberger in Virginia, at roughly $35 million, according to Axios.
During the Biden administration, DHS ran billboard ads in Texas stating that someone “in immigration custody has rights.” Those ads cost $150,000 and did not feature President Joe Biden or then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to a former Biden administration official quoted by Axios.
This story is based on reporting from Axios published in October 2025, federal contracting records, and earlier reporting from The Associated Press, Semafor, and Congressional documents from March 2025. Additional reporting includes Virginia State Corporation Commission records.
