As ICE Expands, CoreCivic and GEO Group Profit

President Trump’s immigration crackdown is creating a sudden demand for detention space. Private prison operators are moving to supply it.

CoreCivic and GEO Group told investors this week that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is now their fastest growing customer. CoreCivic has doubled its revenue from ICE, from $120 million in the fourth quarter of 2024 to $245 million at the close of 2025. GEO Group grew its detention capacity to 26,000 beds.

The detention and deportation spree has drawn protests and criticism from lawmakers. But earnings calls Thursday make clear that controversy is not a deterrent for everyone. Both companies are ready to serve the federal government’s appetite for detention beds.

“ICE is the customer that’s growing the fastest right now,” said Joe Gomes, an equity analyst at Noble Capital Markets. “ICE is their biggest customer.”

CoreCivic is one of the country’s largest private prison operators. In 2025, the company announced new contracts or re-activations at six detention centers across the country: in California, Texas, Virginia, Kansas, Tennessee and Oklahoma. Each of those facilities can hold anywhere from 600 to 2,560 beds.

Some of those are particularly well-known. CoreCivic’s Dilley Immigration Processing Center in South Texas is designed for families and holds children.

In total, CoreCivic increased the number of detainees in its care by 58 percent, to just over 16,000, Patrick Swindle, CEO and president of CoreCivic said on Thursday’s earnings call.

“We’ve informed ICE that we could provide it with nearly 13,000 additional beds,” Swindle said.
“And this does not include additional capacity we may be able to provide through other means.”

GEO Group entered contracts to hold detainees at four facilities in New Jersey, Florida, Georgia and Michigan, increasing its active beds by 6,000. It has hired about 2,000 employees as part of the build-up.

ICE’s total population of detainees is increasing. The number now stands at the highest ever, about 70,000, Gomes said, up from about 39,000 at the end of the Biden administration. The federal government is pursuing at least 100,000 beds, which would mean an increase of about 30,000.

“As a 40-year partner with ICE, we expect to be part of this solution,” George Zoley, GEO’s chairman and CEO said on an earnings call.

The private sector alone is unlikely to be able to supply that number of beds. Although they could try to increase capacity at existing facilities, by putting temporary beds in a former storage room, for example, private companies don’t appear to be that interested in building new facilities, Gomes said.

That’s where government acquisitions come in. The federal government is exploring buying warehouses to hold detainees, contracting with private companies to retrofit and operate the centers, Zoley said.

“The warehouse initiative is large-scale and coast to coast,” he said on the call.

The government is likely to be careful about where it puts those new centers to avoid political resistance.

“We are looking at some sites predominantly in the Sunbelt states, predominantly in red states, to be very frank about it,” Zoley said on the call.

Detention contracts with ICE are typically per diem, Gomes said. The company gets a payment for each person present, sometimes with minimums. But it can take a few months for a facility to be fully activated or reach full capacity. Revenue from these facilities generally increases over time.

Elsewhere in the country, ICE is building out its network of offices. That includes leases for more than 150 office spaces in nearly every space, WIRED reported.