Private Prison Giant GEO Group Claims Lawsuits Over ICE Detention Conditions Are “Fundamentally Unconstitutional”

On a quarterly earnings call Wednesday, GEO Group CEO George Zoley dismissed ongoing lawsuits challenging the conditions in the company’s immigration detention centers as “fundamentally unconstitutional.” GEO Group operates 23 ICE detention facilities, holding about 21,000 detainees—roughly one-third of all people in ICE custody.

The lawsuits allege that detainees face inhumane treatment, including inadequate medical care, unsanitary living conditions, and forced labor under threat of solitary confinement. One suit from detainees at GEO’s Aurora, Colorado facility claims detainees were compelled to clean without pay or face solitary confinement, with those in a voluntary work program earning just $1 per day for tasks like food preparation and laundry. GEO has unsuccessfully argued it should be immune from these lawsuits because it acts as a contractor for the federal government.

At the Adelanto ICE Processing Center, also run by GEO Group, detainees have sued the federal government over denied medical care, lack of outdoor access, poor food and water, and filthy conditions. One detainee with mobility issues from a prior stroke described feeling abandoned by medical staff and fearing death in custody.

Zoley also criticized “blue states” considering increased oversight of detention facilities, suggesting federal ownership of these centers would be a “logical solution” under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. He emphasized GEO’s interest in continuing support services at any facility sold to ICE.

But legal experts and advocates reject GEO’s claims. Carmen Iguina González, deputy director for immigration detention at the ACLU’s National Prison Project, stressed that “the only unconstitutional conduct here is from ICE and the private prison companies it contracts, including GEO Group.” Multiple federal courts have sided with detainees, affirming their rights are not voided by detention.

The Trump administration’s aggressive immigration detention policies have fueled a booming business for private prison firms like GEO Group. Zoley boasted that in 2025 the company secured up to $520 million in new contracts—the largest single-year expansion in GEO’s history.

Yet the human cost is staggering. More than 30 people died in ICE custody last year, the deadliest year since 2004, with deaths continuing to rise. Just last week, a 33-year-old Cuban detainee became the 18th person to die in ICE custody this year.

At the same time, the administration is gutting oversight of immigration jails. The Department of Homeland Security recently announced it is shutting down the office responsible for investigating misconduct and abuse in detention facilities, further reducing accountability.

GEO Group’s CEO may whine about lawsuits, but the real unconstitutional abuses are happening inside these detention centers every day—and the Trump administration is enabling them. We will keep spotlighting these human rights violations and the companies profiting from them until justice is served.