GEO Group CEO Claims Lawsuits Against ICE Detention Centers Are “Unconstitutional” While Pushing Federal Buyout to Dodge State Oversight

On a recent GEO Group earnings call, CEO George Zoley took a defiant stance against legal challenges targeting ICE detention centers run by his company. Calling litigation over medical care, food quality, and cleanliness “unprecedented” and “fundamentally unconstitutional,” Zoley framed these lawsuits as an overreach by states seeking to hold private prisons accountable.

This comes as the private prison giant faces mounting scrutiny over deplorable conditions that have contributed to at least 18 deaths in ICE custody so far this year. Half of these deaths occurred in GEO Group or CoreCivic facilities. These abuses persist even as GEO Group’s revenues surged 17 percent in the first quarter of 2026, driven by Trump’s aggressive deportation policies that funneled millions in government contracts to private prison operators.

Zoley also revealed a chilling strategy in response to widespread opposition to plans for converting warehouses into detention centers. The Trump administration is reportedly reconsidering and may instead purchase “turn-key” detention facilities from private operators like GEO Group. Zoley admitted federal ownership would shield these centers from state oversight and lawsuits by invoking the Supremacy Clause of the Constitution, which prioritizes federal law over state regulations.

“Some blue states are considering more active involvement in oversight of facilities,” Zoley said, suggesting federal ownership is a way to “provide stronger credibility in the courts” and limit state interference. This admission confirms suspicions that the government aims to evade transparency and accountability while expanding detention capacity.

Advocates like Setareh Ghandehari of Detention Watch Network condemned the move as a blatant effort to “expand detention capacity without transparency, oversight or accountability.” She highlighted how ICE is trying to “evade public scrutiny while continuing to carry out the administration’s mass detention and deportation agenda unchecked.”

The legal battles extend beyond conditions. Washington State recently sued GEO Group for violating minimum wage laws by paying detainee workers just $1 per day, a ruling GEO Group is appealing at the Supreme Court. Meanwhile, GEO Group detains more than a third of all ICE detainees nationwide, with about 21,000 people currently held in their facilities.

Zoley attributed a recent dip in detainee numbers partly to leadership changes at DHS and a partial government shutdown but made clear the company remains deeply entwined in the administration’s detention apparatus.

This revelation signals a dangerous escalation in the privatization and federalization of detention centers, designed to insulate operators from legal challenges and state-level protections. As deaths and abuses mount, the Trump administration and its private prison partners are doubling down on tactics that undermine oversight and erode human rights.

For a government that claims to uphold the rule of law, shielding detention centers from accountability is nothing short of a constitutional dodge to perpetuate a brutal and profitable detention regime.