The GEO Group

The GEO Group operates the Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma, Washington — one of the largest immigration detention facilities in the country. Since 2024, at least two people have died in its custody, and six more attempted suicide. Between January 2025 and March 2026, 46 people died in ICE custody — the highest death rate in two decades, per the KFF racial equity tracker. Of those deaths, 33 occurred in for-profit detention facilities operated by GEO Group and its primary competitor CoreCivic. For-profit companies hold the overwhelming majority of ICE detention beds; without a verified bed-share figure, a proportional death-rate comparison cannot be completed — but the absolute number stands: 33 deaths in facilities run for profit. University of Washington researchers documented 157 abuse and assault reports filed against the Tacoma facility between 2015 and 2025. Two were prosecuted. Formal complaints from detainees describe contaminated food (burned plastic, metal string, rope, splinters, hair, and worms), medical emergencies ignored, unsanitary conditions, staff assaults, and sexual abuse by named guards. A 2026 lawsuit named two guards — Justin Berame and Kobe Suafoa — for sexual assaults and documented retaliation through solitary confinement and false suicide watch placements. In 2023, a class-action lawsuit alleged that 1,300+ detainees at a GEO-operated California facility were subjected to months-long poisoning from a chemical disinfectant. Washington Governor Bob Ferguson and AG Nick Brown sought a court order in 2026 to permit health inspections after GEO Group refused to allow access. GEO Group's CEO called the lawsuits "unwarranted and unconstitutional."

• —46 deaths in ICE custody between January 2025 and March 2026 — the highest rate in two decades (KFF tracker).
• —33 of those deaths occurred in for-profit detention facilities (GEO Group and CoreCivic). For-profit companies hold the overwhelming majority of ICE detention beds.
• —In December 2025, four people died in four days across for-profit ICE detention facilities — three at GEO-operated sites; one at a CoreCivic facility.
• —Tacoma facility: at least 2 deaths and 6 suicide attempts since 2024.
• —3,500+ formal abuse complaints against the Northwest ICE Processing Center.
• —University of Washington: 157 assault/abuse reports filed at Tacoma, 2015–2025. Two prosecuted.
• —Documented food contamination: plastic, metal string, rope, splinters, hair, worms.
• —2026 lawsuit: guards Justin Berame and Kobe Suafoa named in sexual assault allegations; retaliation via solitary.
• —2023 class-action: 1,300+ California detainees allegedly poisoned for months by chemical disinfectant.
• —Washington state sought court order to inspect after GEO Group refused access.
• —CEO George Zoley called legal challenges to detention conditions "unwarranted and unconstitutional."

GEO Group does not merely profit from government contracts. It manufactures the political conditions that guarantee those contracts exist and grow. In the 2024 election cycle, GEO Group's PACs and executives contributed $3.7 million to Republican candidates and committees — including $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. Both GEO Group and CoreCivic donated $500,000 each to Trump's 2025 inaugural committee — double what they gave in 2017. Before becoming Trump's Attorney General in 2025, Pam Bondi registered as a lobbyist for GEO Group at Ballard Partners in 2019, lobbying the White House and Department of Homeland Security on GEO's behalf. Ballard Partners received $60,000 in firm fees from GEO Group for that 2019 engagement — Bondi was one of multiple lobbyists on the account. As Attorney General, Bondi oversees the Department of Justice (DOJ), which sets immigration enforcement priorities; those priorities shape ICE detention policy and indirectly GEO's contract revenues through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). GEO Group retained Ballard Partners again after Trump's 2024 win; Q1 2026 LDA disclosures show $350,000 in one quarterly filing alone — after Bondi had become AG. In 2024, 10 of GEO Group's 13 federal lobbyists were former government officials — the revolving door functioning exactly as designed. The return on investment was immediate: GEO Group's net income rose 800% in fiscal year 2025 — from $31.9 million to $254.3 million — while total revenue grew only ~6%. The 800% swing in bottom-line profit was amplified by a depressed FY2024 baseline (COVID-era losses, Biden-era contract uncertainty, pending litigation settlements); the underlying business grew more modestly. ICE funding for GEO Group increased 800% in the same period. The company projects $2.9–3.1 billion in 2026 revenue and has 6,000 idle beds ready to fill.

• —$3.7M to Republican candidates and committees in the 2024 election cycle (OpenSecrets).
• —$1M to Trump's MAGA PAC; $775K to Republican Congressional Leadership Fund; $500K to Senate Leadership Fund.
• —$500K to Trump's 2025 inaugural committee — double the 2017 donation (NOTUS/Washington Sun confirmed).
• —Pam Bondi registered as a lobbyist for GEO Group at Ballard Partners in 2019, lobbying the White House and DHS on GEO's government contracts.
• —Ballard Partners received $60,000 in firm fees from GEO Group for 2019 lobbying (Public Citizen / Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA) disclosures).
• —Ballard Partners billed GEO Group $350,000 in Q1 2026 alone — after Bondi had become Attorney General.
• —10 of 13 GEO Group federal lobbyists in 2024 were former government officials.
• —GEO Group net income: $31.9M (FY2024) → $254.3M (FY2025) — 800% on net income; total revenue grew ~6%.
• —ICE funding to GEO Group rose 800% in the same period.
• —Projected 2026 revenue: $2.9–3.1 billion. 6,000 idle beds available for expansion.
• —Biden's January 2021 EO directed DOJ to phase out Bureau of Prisons private prison contracts — not ICE detention contracts, which sit under DHS. GEO's ICE revenue was never canceled under Biden; the stock drop reflected investor anxiety about a broader policy shift. Trump reversed the DOJ/BOP policy in 2025 and aggressively expanded ICE detention.

Founded in 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation — a subsidiary of a company founded by former FBI agent George Wackenhut — GEO Group built the architecture of the modern private prison industry. The model is structurally simple and morally catastrophic: operate detention facilities under government contract; charge a per-diem rate per person detained; minimize costs (staff, medical care, food, conditions) to widen margins; and lobby to ensure the detained population stays large. The company explicitly acknowledged in investor materials that policy reforms reducing incarceration rates would harm its revenue. It lobbied against sentencing reform and drug decriminalization. It lobbied for mandatory minimums. When the Obama administration signaled a shift away from private prisons, GEO Group's stock fell. When Biden issued an executive order in 2021 directing the Justice Department to phase out private Bureau of Prisons contracts — not ICE immigration detention, which sits under a different agency, DHS — GEO's stock fell further on investor anxiety about a broader policy shift. GEO's ICE detention contracts were never terminated under Biden. Trump reversed the DOJ/BOP policy in 2025 and aggressively expanded ICE detention capacity. The December 2025 BI Inc. program expanded GEO Group's role beyond incarceration: its agents now locate and track immigration targets in the community for federal apprehension — what ICE calls "skip tracing." The Intercept characterized the program as "immigrant bounty hunting." GEO profits from locating immigrants and then imprisoning them: vertical integration in human caging. The company converted law enforcement into a for-profit operation targeting people who have not been charged with any crime.

• —Founded 1984 as Wackenhut Corrections Corporation. IPO 1994. Rebranded GEO Group 2003.
• —Pioneered the modern private prison contract model: per-diem rate per person detained.
• —Business model structurally requires high detention occupancy → lobbying for high incarceration rates.
• —Investor filings acknowledged sentencing reforms reducing incarceration would harm revenue.
• —Obama DOJ signaled move away from private prisons → GEO stock fell.
• —Biden's 2021 EO directed DOJ to phase out Bureau of Prisons private prison contracts — not ICE detention (DHS). GEO's ICE contracts were never terminated under Biden; the stock drop reflected investor anxiety. Trump reversed the BOP policy in 2025 and expanded ICE detention.
• —December 2025: ICE contracted GEO Group's subsidiary BI Inc. to locate and track immigration targets for federal apprehension — what ICE calls "skip tracing." The Intercept's characterization: "immigrant bounty hunters." GEO profits from finding immigrants and then imprisoning them.
• —Vertical integration: GEO Group profits at both ends — locating and then caging the same people.