1A 'If You Can Keep It': The Private Companies Profiting Off ICE
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Feb 23, 2026 Lauren Brooke Eisen, a detention policy expert at the Brennan Center; Jose Olivares, investigative reporter on immigration enforcement; Carol Lennick, investigative correspondent focused on justice reporting; and Elliot Williams, former DOJ and ICE legal official, dig into the business behind immigration crackdowns. They discuss rising detentions and shootings, profit spikes at private prison contractors, contract incentives like guaranteed bed payments, and tech and transport firms fueling deportations.
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Private Prison Profits Soared With Detention Surge
- ICE detentions and arrests surged under the Trump administration, driving a nearly 75% increase in people held and 13% revenue jumps at CoreCivic and The GEO Group in 2025.
- The two companies opened nine new ICE detention centers while DHS reported about 68,000 people detained, creating a profitable expansion for private prison firms.
Denaturalization Review Raises Voter Intimidation Fears
- DHS initiated a denaturalization review targeting naturalized citizens who may have voted before naturalization, raising concerns about intimidation and quota-driven denaturalizations.
- The memo's subject line read 'potential voter fraud dash denaturalization' and DHS set a 100–200 denaturalizations/month quota.
Court Contempt Eroded Government Credibility
- The administration's behavior in court has eroded judicial trust, with multiple judges accusing agencies of defying orders and holding DOJ attorneys in contempt.
- Loss of the presumption of regularity hampers government's credibility and operations in immigration cases.
