GEO Group wins new no-bid ICE detention contracts after donations
GEO Group, ICE's second-largest contractor, won new no-bid contracts and contract modifications in Trump's first year back, after giving to his 2024 campaign and inauguration.
What happened
POGO Investigates and the Investigative Reporting Workshop (IRW) analysed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) contract obligations from USAspending.gov. The window was January 20, 2025 to January 19, 2026, the first full year of Trump's second term. GEO Group, ICE's second-largest contractor, was one of three companies the analysis says were boosted by new no-bid contracts and contract modifications. Executive Chairman George Zoley called the new no-bid contracts and modifications among the deals that will lead to hundreds of millions of dollars a year. GEO's direct ICE revenue for the year was $710 million ($710,190,805.96 obligated), down less than one percent from $713 million the year before. That total does not count GEO's revenue from ICE subcontracts. GEO's executives, its political action committee (PAC) and a subsidiary gave over $1 million to Trump's 2024 campaign. The company gave $500,000 to his inauguration committee. Both are per Federal Election Commission records cited by POGO and IRW. FEC Schedule A receipts cited here carry the GEO Group PAC's contributions to the Trump 47 Committee and $1 million of contributions to Make America Great Again Inc. from GEO Acquisition II Inc, which the receipts do not tie to GEO Group; POGO's own words are that executives, the PAC and a subsidiary gave over $1 million. $500,000 on 2024-02-09 and $250,000 each on 2024-08-09 and 2024-09-30. GEO Group's PAC gave the Trump 47 Committee $35,000 on 2024-08-16 and $50,000 on 2024-10-31. An ICE spokesperson told POGO and IRW the agency bases awards “on mission requirements, contractor performance, and value to the taxpayer”; GEO Group did not respond to a request for comment. The POGO/IRW analysis and the FEC receipts read for this row do not show that the donations bought the contracts. The $710 million is the year's whole obligations total from ICE to GEO Group: what the government agreed to pay, not what it has paid out. The page gives no figure for the no-bid awards themselves and dates no individual award. It is a public-cost figure, not money to the Trump family, and it is logged, not counted. The date on this row is the date the cited analysis was last updated, February 18, 2026; the obligations it counts run from January 20, 2025 to January 19, 2026.
Why it matters
ICE agreed to pay GEO Group $710 million in Trump's first year back, and the company picked up new no-bid contracts and contract modifications. GEO's executives, PAC and a subsidiary had given over $1 million to Trump's 2024 campaign, and the company $500,000 to his inauguration. ICE's crackdown is one of the White House's top priorities, and ICE awards the contracts. The POGO/IRW analysis and the FEC receipts read for this row do not show that the donations bought them.
Sources
POGO Investigates / Investigative Reporting Workshop, fec.gov, fec.gov