Private Prison Contractors Spend Millions on Lobbying, Get Billions in Immigration Detention Contracts

GEO Group and CoreCivic see an “unprecedented” opportunity to do business with the Trump administration during a national immigration crackdown.

CoreCivic

A CoreCivic facility in Leavenworth, Kan. Nick Ingram/AP

Private prison contractors have spent millions lobbying for immigration detention dollars since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last January.

GEO Group spent nearly $1.4 million last year lobbying federal lawmakers and the Trump administration on issues related to appropriations, immigration enforcement and “alternatives to detention,” according to federal lobbying disclosures.

Since Trump retook office, the federal government has collectively awarded GEO Group and its subsidiaries more than $1 billion for detention centers and services, according to federal contracting data available on USASpending.gov.