Key Takeaways
• CoreCivic and GEO Group earned over $4 billion combined revenue from detention contracts in 2017.
• Private equity firms control almost two-thirds of U.S. immigration detention centers’ contracts.
• Tech companies profit by supplying ICE with surveillance software and services for tracking and deportation operations.
Private companies and investment firms are making billions of dollars from anti-immigration fears and the strict policies that follow. This growing business reaches far beyond the headlines and shapes both U.S. and global decisions on how countries handle migrants, refugees, and border enforcement.
Let’s look at who profits, how they do it, and what this means for everyone involved.
Who Is Making Money from Tough Immigration Policies?
Most people think of immigration as a matter for governments, but today, many private companies play a huge role. Two of the biggest names are CoreCivic and GEO Group. These companies are known for running privately owned prisons and detention centers in the United States 🇺🇸. They also help manage operations for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, better known as ICE.
Both CoreCivic and GEO Group have made massive profits from contracts with the U.S. government. In 2017 alone, their combined income was over $4 billion. Every year, these two companies together get over $1 billion from ICE, and a big share of that money is linked directly to holding immigrants in detention.
It’s not just about running the buildings. These companies want immigration policies to stay strict or become even tougher—because this keeps their business growing. When more people are detained for immigration reasons, CoreCivic and GEO Group make more money.
The Role of Private Equity and Investors
It isn’t only traditional prison companies that are involved. Today, private equity firms—investment funds that pool money from investors—have taken over contracts at almost two-thirds of the country’s 90 federally approved immigration detention centers. This means a lot of Wall Street money now depends on America’s immigration detention system being as big as possible.
These private equity firms are harder to track than public companies. Many are not well-known names, but they’re deeply involved. Their main goal is earning the biggest profit possible for their backers, so they push for more contracts, longer stays, and anything else that increases their bottom line.
Rising Profits from Surveillance and Tracking
Holding people in physical detention is just one part of the story. More and more money is being made from keeping tabs on immigrants outside of detention centers. Electronic monitoring and surveillance technology are growing quickly. As an example, BI Incorporated (which is owned by GEO Group) signed a deal worth $2.2 billion with ICE over five years to run a program that uses ankle bracelets to monitor people. These high-tech services can bring in profit margins as high as 50%.
The trend is clear: the bigger the surveillance network, the higher the profit for these companies.
Big Companies Profit from Every Angle
Large corporations don’t just benefit by running detention centers or tracking systems. Some big-name tech companies also make money on this business. Vendors like Amazon supply the software that helps ICE carry out deportation operations.
Interestingly, some of the same companies that say they support refugees and immigrants—like Uber, Lyft, Microsoft, Pfizer, DoorDash, and UPS—have been found donating millions to political groups that push for tough, anti-immigrant policies. During recent U.S. election cycles, these companies gave over $14 million to Republican groups that ran anti-migrant campaigns, all while talking about their support for refugees in public messaging.
This shows that the line between “supporting immigrants” and “profiting from tough policies” is not always clear in the corporate world.
Lobbying: Shaping the Rules for Profit
Companies benefiting from detention, surveillance, and strict enforcement do not stand aside when policy decisions are made. CoreCivic and GEO Group, for example, are known for putting a lot of money and effort into lobbying lawmakers. Their goal? Support any rule or law that increases demand for their services.
When stricter laws are proposed or passed, these companies often gain more business. This was obvious after the 2016 and 2024 U.S. elections. Following President Trump’s victories, both CoreCivic and GEO Group saw their stock prices rise sharply, in part because many expected U.S. immigration enforcement to get even tougher.
A Quick Look at the Industry’s Profits
To help make sense of who is making money and how, here’s a simple breakdown:
| Company Type | How They Get Paid | What They Do to Make More Money |
|---|---|---|
| Private Prison Operators | Paid by government for each detainee, each day | Push for stricter laws; keep centers as full as possible |
| Private Equity Firms | Hold contracts for many types of facilities | Work in many areas—spread out to reduce risks |
| Surveillance Technology | Paid for monitoring and electronic tracking | Try to expand digital surveillance programs |
| Service/Logistics Vendors | Paid for software, IT, transport, and housing | Bid for more jobs in newly privatized government areas |
As reported by VisaVerge.com, these profits come not only from doing the job, but also from companies trying to push laws and policies that keep the money coming. Because of the way contracts are set up, every new or extended detention, every staff position, and every tracked person brings in more money.
The Situation in Other Countries
This trend isn’t limited to the United States 🇺🇸. In the United Kingdom 🇬🇧, several companies make huge profits from government contracts to house and manage asylum seekers. Since privatization began, three contractors—SERCO, Clearsprings, and MEARS—have received close to £4 billion for handling asylum accommodation.
Other big firms like G4S and Sodexo also make large sums by organizing deportation logistics and other services. Much of this work has shifted from public management to for-profit companies, leading to a major global industry controlling how countries deal with migration.
Growing “Asylum Industry” and Its Critics
The web of profits, contracts, and lobbying has led some to call this the “asylum industrial complex.” This phrase points to a system where business is built around controlling and detaining people, rather than helping them find safety or stability.
This profit-based approach has faced a wave of criticism:
- High Costs: Companies often inflate costs or bill for more than is needed.
- Bad Incentives: Firms have reason to want more people detained, since that means more money.
- Poor Conditions: To make a bigger profit, some operators have cut back on food, medical care, or basic supplies in centers and shelters.
- Less Oversight: Private companies are usually less open about their actions than public agencies, making it harder to see where the money goes or how people are treated.
A critical report summed up the worry this way: “People are suffering while private equity gouges our system.” In other words, while immigrants often face difficult or even dangerous conditions, investors and company directors take home big paychecks.
The Role of ICE, CoreCivic, and GEO Group
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) sits at the center of this profit-driven system. ICE awards the contracts for running detention centers and surveillance programs. It decides which companies get a share of this billion-dollar business every year.
CoreCivic and GEO Group, as the two largest private operators, are deeply linked to ICE’s function. Their income depends directly on the number of beds filled and people tracked. This gives them a big reason to hope for—and sometimes even push for—policies that keep the number of detainees high.
BI Incorporated, a subsidiary of GEO Group, uploads the most advanced monitoring systems for ICE. With ankle bracelets and location-tracking apps, they turn court-ordered supervision into a major source of revenue that can run for years at a time.
Multi-Billion Dollar Stakes Drive Policy Choices
When companies stand to make billions each year, their influence reaches deep into policy decisions. Lobbyists for firms like CoreCivic and GEO Group meet with lawmakers, make campaign donations, and produce reports showing supposed benefits of expanded enforcement.
These connections blur the lines between private and public interests. Decisions about how many people to detain, how much surveillance to use, and how strictly to apply the law often match closely with what will keep profits high.
How Profits Shape the Bigger Picture
All of this adds up to a system where business interests reinforce and even help create a climate of fear around migration. The more the public worries about border “crises” or a flood of newcomers, the easier it is for politicians to make and keep tough policies.
Companies that profit from detention, removal, or tracking can benefit both from real changes in migration and from public anger or panic—meaning even the discussion of an “immigrant threat” keeps profits flowing.
This means that, while governments say they are acting for national security or public order, private firms use their position to shape laws and attitudes behind the scenes.
Key Takeaways for Immigrants, Advocates, and the Public
- For Immigrants: Conditions in detention centers are closely tied to cost-cutting by private companies. Complaints about food, care, and safety are often reported, especially where companies try to boost their profits.
- For the Public: There is less oversight and less ability to see how public money is spent. Big contracts are often won by companies with strong political connections.
- For Governments: Moves to privatize detention or surveillance have increased costs without always improving results. Reports show that, in many cases, private operators bill much more than public facilities used to.
Who Benefits, Who Loses?
While CoreCivic, GEO Group, private equity investors, and technology vendors see big paydays, the system can be tough on the people caught up in it. Migrants and asylum seekers often face long stays in poor conditions, and sometimes lack basics like healthcare or legal help.
Public dollars—taxpayer money—fund much of this system, putting the weight on communities and ordinary citizens, while profits go to private investors and companies.
What Comes Next?
With each new change in administration or policy, companies and investors watch closely, hoping for new contracts or expanded business. Some advocates and watchdogs hope for reforms or a return to public control, especially as more information about private profit becomes public.
But with so much money involved, the business of anti-immigration remains strong. As long as governments turn to private companies to build, run, and monitor their border and migration systems, profits are unlikely to decline.
If you’d like more details on government policies, contracts, and how ICE runs its programs, you can find official information on the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement website.
Conclusion
The link between private profit and anti-immigration policy is now a major driver in both U.S. and global immigration systems. Companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group, backed by investors and technology firms, have built a billion-dollar industry around detention and surveillance, with ICE at the center. Analysis from VisaVerge.com suggests these profit networks are shaping not just policy decisions, but also the public conversation about immigration—often with tough consequences for the people at the heart of the issue.
For anyone interested in immigration news and reform, keeping an eye on these powerful players is essential. Their decisions affect migrants, governments, and citizens in ways that are both direct and hard to see—but the impact is felt by all.
Learn Today
Private Equity Firm → An investment company pooling funds from investors to buy private businesses or assets, often for substantial profit.
ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) → A U.S. government agency overseeing immigration enforcement, detention, and deportation operations.
Surveillance Technology → Digital tools and equipment used to electronically monitor, track, or supervise migrants inside or outside detention centers.
Lobbying → Efforts by companies or groups to influence lawmakers and shape regulatory or legislative decisions for business benefit.
Detention Center → A facility used to retain and supervise individuals, such as immigrants, while their legal status or cases are processed.
This Article in a Nutshell
Private companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group, aided by investors and tech giants, earn billions from strict immigration policies. Surveillance contracts and lobbying fuel profits. These practices affect migrants’ lives and public oversight, blurring lines between business and public interest. Awareness and reform are urgently needed to balance priorities.
— By VisaVerge.com
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