How Your Retirement Account Profits from ICE Detentions
Unveiling the Private Prison Industry's Ecosystem of Detention and Surveillance
The landscape of U.S. immigration detention is a meticulously constructed ecosystem, far removed from the public eye yet deeply entrenched in federal policy and global finance.
What began as a response to manufactured border crises has evolved into a multi-billion-dollar industry, overwhelmingly managed by private, for-profit corporations.
As of 2026, roughly 90% of individuals in ICE custody are held in facilities owned or operated by these entities, a testament to their pervasive influence. Trump’s Big, Bullshit Bill injected an unprecedented $45 billion into immigration enforcement, and has further solidified this industry’s position, signaling a gold rush for the companies that stand to profit from expanded detention.
At the heart of this lucrative system are two publicly traded behemoths: The GEO Group and CoreCivic.
The GEO Group, the larger of the two, reported quarterly revenues exceeding $630 million in late 2025. This success is not accidental; it’s the result of decades of strategic positioning by founder and Executive Chairman George Zoley, who has steered the company towards becoming an indispensable partner to the federal government. GEO’s reach extends beyond traditional detention centers through its subsidiary, BI Incorporated, which manages the Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) for ICE. This means GEO profits not only from physical incarceration but also from the thousands of immigrants monitored via GPS ankle bracelets and tracking apps.
A significant portion of GEO’s stock, like many publicly traded companies, is held by massive institutional investors such as BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street. These firms, through various mutual funds and ETFs, mean that countless individuals unknowingly hold a financial stake in the detention industry through their retirement and investment portfolios.
It’s highly likely that your 401k or Roth IRA is benefitting from the people ICE arrests.
Dulce Consuelo Diaz Morales, a 22 year old from Maryland, has a U.S. birth certificate that was presented to federal agents.
Despite that, ICE detained her for 25 days and upon her release has forced her to wear an ankle monitor because they question her citizenship status. It is highly likely that the monitor she’s wearing is making money for GEO.
CoreCivic, formerly the Corrections Corporation of America, operates with a similar business model, having aggressively reopened nonfunctioning facilities to meet the government’s mandate for over 100,000 detention beds.
Under CEO Damon Hininger, CoreCivic has positioned itself to capture a substantial share of the federal budget, with one facility alone, the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, estimated to generate $180 million annually. Like GEO, CoreCivic’s ownership is dominated by Wall Street institutional investors, though it also relies heavily on regional banks and private equity firms for the substantial credit lines needed to build and maintain its vast network of facilities.
Beyond these public giants, the private prison landscape includes influential privately held firms like LaSalle Corrections and Management & Training Corporation (MTC).
LaSalle Corrections, largely controlled by the West family of Louisiana, has carved out a lucrative niche managing regional detention centers across the Southern U.S. Similarly, MTC, owned by the Marquardt family, transitioned from providing job training services to becoming a major contractor for federal detention, operating with less public scrutiny due to its private status.
These family-run operations demonstrate that profit from detention is not exclusive to public shareholders but also fuels the wealth of private enterprises shielded from the disclosures required of publicly traded companies.
The profit streams for these companies extend far beyond simply housing individuals. They encompass an intricate web of ancillary services that form the “detention beyond bars” ecosystem.
The GEO Group, through BI Incorporated, has heavily invested in electronic monitoring, committing an additional $70 million to scale up the production of GPS tracking devices and expand its surveillance capabilities. This sector, generating hundreds of millions in annual revenue, ensures profitability even as physical detention numbers fluctuate. Secure transportation is another critical revenue generator, with GEO’s GTI (GEO Transport, Inc.) subsidiary reporting a staggering 240% increase in revenues since 2022, projected to hit $140 million in 2025.
This rapid growth directly reflects the federal government’s increasing reliance on private contractors for mass removal campaigns and the logistical pipeline to facilitate deportations.
A robust and aggressive lobbying machine underpins the entire apparatus. The financial success of the private prison industry is not just a market response; it is a meticulously engineered outcome, sustained by millions of dollars in lobbying expenditures and campaign contributions.
In 2024 alone, GEO Group’s PAC and corporate subsidiaries contributed over $4 million to political campaigns, strategically targeting members of the DHS Appropriations Subcommittees who control the purse strings of immigration enforcement. These lobbying efforts focus on securing guaranteed funding through “bed mandates” and protecting the industry from regulatory and financial challenges, such as past movements by major banks to cease lending to the sector.
CoreCivic similarly reported significant lobbying expenditures, focusing on legislation like the Fair Access to Banking Act to ensure continuous access to capital. This cycle of influence, often termed the “Deportation-Industrial Complex,” embeds private profit motives deep within federal policy, making the system increasingly resilient to public opinion or political shifts.
As the U.S. government continues to expand its immigration enforcement capabilities, aiming for millions of removals per year, the “owners” of these private prisons, from the founding families and corporate executives to the massive asset managers on Wall Street, are poised for unprecedented financial gains.
Their integrated business models, spanning physical detention, high-tech surveillance, and comprehensive logistical services, ensure that every stage of the immigration process is a potential source of profit, cementing their role as central figures in the nation’s ongoing immigration debate.
Every ICE detainee you hear about on the news generates profit for these companies, and some of that has a very high likelihood of making its way into your reitrement savings.