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Booming earnings for leading private prison firms during the government's immigration enforcement escalation

Private prison firms, the nation's largest, are reaping substantial earnings due to the stiff immigration enforcement under the Trump administration.

,   and  Administrator
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Immigration enforcement drives record earnings for leading private prison firms
Immigration enforcement drives record earnings for leading private prison firms

Booming earnings for leading private prison firms during the government's immigration enforcement escalation

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The Trump administration's hardline immigration policies have significantly boosted the profits and expansion of private prison companies like Geo Group and CoreCivic. These companies have reported substantial revenue growth and new contracts with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leading to a lucrative environment for these firms.

In 2025, both Geo Group and CoreCivic reported impressive revenue growth linked directly to new and ongoing contracts with ICE. CoreCivic’s Q2 revenue reached $538.2 million, representing a 9.8% increase over the previous year, driven by rapid federal detention population growth. Geo Group reported total second-quarter revenue of $636.2 million, a 5% increase from the second quarter of 2024.

The expansion was supported by the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) signed in 2025, which injected $45 billion into immigration detention over several years—more than quadrupling ICE's annual detention budget. This law explicitly enabled wide-ranging immigration detention expansion, including family detention, which private prison companies welcomed as a direct source of increased revenue.

However, these policies also resulted in overcrowded, inhumane detention conditions with documented abuses and prolonged detentions, even for those granted asylum or legal protections. The administration’s focus on mass deportations and detention intensified human rights concerns while financially benefiting private entities managing detention infrastructure.

Geo Group CEO, Zoley, believes the company is uniquely positioned to assist ICE in meeting its objectives. The company has taken necessary resources to significantly and quickly respond to the eventual expansion of the Intensive Supervision and Appearance Program (ISAP). Geo Group currently tracks approximately 183,000 individuals through its electronic monitoring program, run by BI Inc., a subsidiary of Geo Group. Zoley stated that given the size of the undocumented immigrant population in the U.S., the company’s view is that increased detention capacity and enforcement of federal immigration laws could lead to an increase in GPS tracking for individuals.

CoreCivic facilities are described as the most humane, efficient, compliant, secure, and weatherproof in their system. ICE has increased the utilization of Geo Group's current contracts from 15,000 beds to 20,000 beds, which is the highest level of ICE utilization in the company's history. CoreCivic facilities are being evaluated for expansion to meet the administration’s demands.

ICE has relied on private companies like Geo Group for years to house detained migrants, making it a multimillion-dollar business. The Trump administration is aggressively pushing for increased immigration arrests and detentions, and both Geo Group and CoreCivic are working around the clock to open up bed space and new detention facilities. CoreCivic CEO Damon Hininger expects 'significant growth' due to Trump’s policies, reporting a total revenue of $538.2 million during their second quarter, a 9.8% increase from the same quarter in 2024.

Both Geo Group and CoreCivic, whose leadership have long supported Trump, saw their stock prices spike after Trump's victory in the November election. The companies' executives believe they are in a strong competitive position to pursue unprecedented growth opportunities as long-standing support services providers for ICE. However, the human rights concerns related to overcrowded and inhumane detention conditions persist, despite the financial gains for these private companies.

References:

  1. Geo Group Q2 2025 Earnings Report
  2. Human Rights Watch Report on U.S. Immigration Detention
  3. Text of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA)

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