'If You Can Keep It': The Private Companies Profiting Off ICE

An ICE agent walks to a vehicle outside the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota. ** Stephen Maturen/Getty Images ** hide caption

toggle captionPresident Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown has real human costs. Some 13 people have been shot by ICE and federal agents since September, two of which were fatal. The number of people held in detention centers increased by nearly 75 percent in 2025. Around 68,000 people are currently detained in these facilities, according to the latest ICE data.

And those arrested with no criminal record rose by over 2,000 percent since Trump took office. That’s according to a report last month from the American Immigration Council. That’s a non-partisan non-profit focused on immigrant rights.

But for private companies invested in the administration’s agenda, that human cost has meant a hefty pay check. The private prison companies CoreCivic and The GEO Group have both reported $2 billion, or a 13 percent increase, in revenue in 2025. The two contractors opened nine new detention centers for ICE use.

In this installment of our weekly politics series, “If You Can Keep It,” the private companies profiting from President Trump’s immigration crackdown.Find more of our programs *online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at **plus.npr.org/the1a.*