Private prison companies positioned to benefit from increased deportations |
By Indy Scholtens
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. |
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GEO Group and CoreCivic spent $1.38 million and $1.77 million, respectively, on lobbying the federal government in 2024. Much of their focus was the appropriations bill funding the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the budget for ICE.
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Both GEO Group and CoreCivic made $500,000 donations to the 2025 inaugural committee, double what they gave to Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee.
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During the 2024 election cycle, GEO Group employees and its political action committees contributed a total of $3.7 million to candidates, outside spending groups and other political committees. The majority went to Republicans and conservative groups: The company contributed $1 million to Trump’s Make America Great Again super PAC, $775,000 to the Republican Congressional Leadership Fund and $500,000 to the Senate Leadership Fund. GEO Acquisition II, Inc, a subsidiary, contributed $1 million to Make America Great Again. GEO’s PAC became the first to max out donations to Trump’s presidential campaign in February 2024, according to Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics, a nonprofit government watchdog.
- Two GEO Group executives, founder George Zoley and CEO Brian Evans, each made a $11,600 contribution to Trump’s Save America fundraising committee.
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In August 2024, Zoley spent over $3 million to buy 250,000 shares of his company at an average price of $12.28; their value has more than doubled as of April 22. The increase in GEO’s stock price is the largest since 2016. It would generate about $4 million profit for Zoley if he sold the stock.
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CoreCivic PACs and employees donated $784,974 in the 2024 election cycle, of which $660,170 went to Republican candidates and committees. Hininger contributed $300,000 to a joint fundraising committee benefitting the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee.
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Both GEO Group and CoreCivic have deep ties with the government: Attorney General Pam Bondi lobbied for GEO Group while she worked at Ballad Partners, for which she was paid $390,000. The majority of GEO Group’s lobbyists in 2024 were “revolvers”: 10 out of 13 previously held government positions. For CoreCivic, six out of 10 lobbyists in 2024 previously held government positions.
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Dick Durbin by the numbers |
Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.), the second-highest ranked Democratic leader in the Senate, announced Wednesday that he will retire in 2026. He has served in the Senate since 1997, following 14 years in the House.
Durbin has been the Democratic whip since 2005; he chaired the Judiciary Committee from 2021 to 2024 and currently serves as the panel’s ranking member. His departure creates what will likely be a competitive leadership race and a competitive Democratic primary for his Senate seat. Durbin has been a proponent of changes to the federal campaign finance system during his career, including: |
- A voluntary program to fund viable congressional candidates with public funds.
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A constitutional amendment to overturn the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.
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The provision of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act known as the “millionaire’s amendment,” which allowed congressional candidates to accept donations above federal limits when facing self-financed candidates. The Supreme Court eventually ruled that provision to be unconstitutional.
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OpenSecrets has assembled notable facts about Durbin’s own campaign fundraising and his impact on elections: | -
When Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, last ran for reelection (in 2020), his campaign committee raised $10.4 million. The biggest cumulative donations came from employees of three law firms: Power Rogers LLP ($71,900), Kirkland & Ellis ($63,400), and Simmons Hanly Conroy ($62,300). Employees of the state of Illinois also donated a total of $60,400.
- Simmons Hanley Conroy employees were also the biggest cohort supporting Durbin’s 2014 campaign, giving a total of $145,300, followed by two other law firms.
- As of March 31, Durbin had $1.6 million in his campaign account. He is permitted to give that money to candidates, the Democratic Party or charities.
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Durbin’s leadership political action committee, Prairie PAC, raised and spent $1.1 million in 2024, down from its peak of $1.4 million in 2022.
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See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week: |
Millions in campaign style ads hit TV, but there's no campaign (NBC4 Washington)
"I think we're seeing more of it (issue advertising) than you might normally see this year because of the Trump Administration's move to make so many changes so quickly. People don't want to be left out if you have a stake in something," Brendan Glavin, the Director of Insights for OpenSecrets, told the News4 I-Team. The nonprofit tracks money in politics. |
Major Sports Figures Donated at Least $15M to Second Trump Inauguration (Front Office Sports)
Hedge fund billionaire Ken Griffin, who has given millions to U.S. Soccer, pledged $1 million to the inaugural committee. Griffin, like McMahon, was a major donor to Republicans during the election cycle. He gave roughly $100 million total to individuals and causes, according to analysis from OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics. |
This Company Is Spending Millions to Profit Off Veterans' Benefits. Why Won't Lawmakers Stop It? (Military.com)
The company set up its own political action committee, Veterans Guardian VA Claims Consulting PAC, made up of donations from Greenblatt, Taylor, other executives, and their family members. Donations from Veterans Guardian affiliates were in the top five campaign contributions for both Bergman and Mace, according to the campaign finance tracking database OpenSecrets. Bergman received $26,200 from these donors for 2024, and Mace received $19,700. |
Pa. primary election 2025: A guide to vetting local and judicial candidates (Spotlight PA)
The Federal Election Commission website and platforms such as OpenSecrets allow you to search for donations to federal campaigns. In Pennsylvania, state-level candidates (including Common Pleas judges) file their campaign finance information with the Department of State, which lists those reports online. The best way to find a candidate's committee is to search by last name. |
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