Investigation by OpenSecrets, POGO, and CREW documents overlap between Trump donations and ICE contract awards.
Donations: GEO Group and CoreCivic each gave $500K to Trump's 2025 inaugural committee. Combined with executives and PACs: $2.8M to Trump's 2024 campaign and inaugural fund per CREW/FEC data.
Contracts (USAspending.gov): GEO Group $2.1B, CSI Aviation $1.1B, MVM Inc. $1.1B, Classic Air Charter $800M, CoreCivic $653M.
Revenue: GEO Group $2.6B in 2025 (up 6%). CoreCivic $2.2B (up 13%). Both cited new ICE business.
Enforcement context: 14,426 ICE enforcement flights in year one — up 89%. ICE detention doubled to 70,000. Ankle monitoring: 17,000 to 42,000. ICE contract spending up 69% year over year. Top 10 vendors captured 70% of $5.4B.
Ahead: One Big Beautiful Bill allocates $45B for ICE private detention.
Sources: OpenSecrets, POGO, CREW, Charlotte Observer, USAspending.gov.
#ICE #PayToPlay #GEOGroup #CoreCivic #TheWashingtonPretzel #USPoliTickle
The Washington Pretzel | US PoliTickle
GEO Group and CoreCivic donated $2.8M to Trump. ICE gave them billions back. GEO: $2.1B. CoreCivic: $653M. CSI Aviation: $1.1B. ICE detention doubled. Flights up 89%. One Big Beautiful Bill adds $45B more for private detention. 🚨
#PayToPlay #ICE #TheWashingtonPretzel