Private Prison Titan GEO Group Intensifies Lobbying for Immigrant Surveillance Expansion

GEO Group, one of the largest private prison companies globally, is intensifying its lobbying as budget cuts loom over alternatives to detention programs in Washington. In the first half of 2024, the private prison giant spent $690,000 on federal lobbying, marking a substantial increase from previous years during the Biden administration, according to OpenSecrets.

Biden’s executive order in January 2021 aimed to phase out the Justice Department’s contracts with private prisons. However, the industry had already pivoted to immigrant detention and surveillance under Congress’s purview. This strategic shift started in 2011 when GEO Group acquired BI Inc., a company specializing in GPS tracking devices, and began lobbying for “alternatives to detention within ICE,” as federal disclosures indicate.

By 2020, BI Inc. secured a five-year, $2.2 billion contract with ICE to continue its Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). This program employs technology like ankle monitors and phone apps to monitor immigrants instead of detaining them. Although touted as humane and cost-effective by former acting ICE director Tae Johnson, ISAP has faced severe critique. A 2022 Guardian investigation highlighted malfunctioning surveillance technology and insufficient case management protocols.

In 2023, ICE funding accounted for nearly half of GEO Group’s revenue, as revealed in their latest annual report. Specifically, $337.8 million came from the ISAP. Due to Congressional delays in passing spending bills for the 2024 fiscal year, GEO Group has upped its lobbying efforts focused on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other related appropriations bills. Additionally, GEO is lobbying for the Secure the Border Act of 2023, which includes provisions such as limiting asylum eligibility and extending the U.S.-Mexico border wall.

Sources such as Jason Morin from the University of Southern California suggest that GEO Group’s intensified lobbying is driven by potential revenue losses. He noted the significant drop in earnings from electronic monitoring services between the first quarters of 2023 and 2024, compounded by the Biden administration’s 2025 fiscal budget proposal to cut funding for ICE’s Alternatives to Detention programs.

The GEO Group’s lobbying team comprises several former government officials who have transitioned into the private sector, including ex-Rep. Martha Roby and Lionel Aguirre, former staffer to Rep. Henry Cuellar. These efforts are necessary for the private prison industry to maintain government funding, as highlighted by American Civil Liberties Union’s Kyle Virgien. Despite multiple requests, GEO Group’s representatives and lobbyists have not provided comments on their current lobbying activities.