As the Trump administration is ramping up detentions and deportations of immigrants living in the United States,
it is also revising and expanding contracts with private prison facilities.
Prison companies can earn millions from the federal government by building and operating the facilities used to hold people before they are removed from the country.
The most valuable private prison companies are #GEO #Group and #CoreCivic, at $4 billion and $2.2 billion, respectively.
In a 2023 report, GEO Group noted Immigration and Customs Enforcement contracts accounted for 43 percent of its revenue;
for CoreCivic that number was 30 percent. The day after Donald Trump was reelected, the companies’ stock prices soared:
GEO Group’s by about 41 percent and CoreCivic’s by nearly 29 percent.
“This is, to us, an unprecedented opportunity,” George Zoley, executive chairman of the GEO Group, said during an earnings call shortly after the election.
During a CoreCivic earnings call, CEO Damon Hininger said:
“This is truly one of the most exciting periods in my career with the company"
In December, GEO Group announced that the company would expand its ICE services capabilities by investing $70 million in capital expenditures.
Zoley said during the earnings call that the company is looking to potentially double its services.
ICE could help fill up to 18,000 empty GEO beds, which could generate as much as $400 million.
Both companies are part of a multibillion-dollar industry that could grow significantly while Trump is in office.
Accordingly, the corporations and their employees have invested millions to influence decision-making that could increase their bottom lines.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2025/04/private-prison-companies-positioned-to-benefit-from-increased-deportations