..........Nearly 1 in 4 ICE detainees are in facilities operated by private prison company CoreCivic.

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‪Kentucky Lantern‬ ‪@kentuckylantern.com‬
· 1h
Nearly 1 in 4 ICE detainees are in facilities operated by private prison company CoreCivic. tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/23/t...

Nearly 1 in 4 ICE detainees are in facilities operated by private prison company CoreCivic. tennesseelookout.com/2026/02/23/t...

— Kentucky Lantern (@kentuckylantern.com) 2026-02-23T15:34:42.710Z

The Tennessee companies profiting from the Trump administration’s immigration agenda

ICE and Border Patrol have awarded Tennessee companies nearly $1.6 billion in contracts to provide parkas to Minneapolis ICE agents, underwear and mylar blankets to detained immigrants, steel for a border wall, tactical gear for agents and detention center operations

By: Anita Wadhwani - February 23, 2026 8:01 am

Nearly one in four ICE detainees are now in facilities operated by CoreCivic, company executives said during the earnings call. Patrick Swindle, CEO, told investors that revenue from ICE has increased more than 100% year over year. ICE is currently in the process of investing more than $38 billion in acquiring properties to use as detention centers, providing more opportunities for CoreCivic growth. The agency did not respond to questions about its contracts with Tennessee companies.

“The expansion of ICE and CBP contracting in Tennessee is part of a nationwide trend, as Congress has provided tens of billions of dollars for the administration’s crackdown,” said David Janovsky, acting director of the Constitution Project at the Project on Government Oversight, or POGO, a government watchdog.

POGO’s analysis found ICE contract spending increased 70% between 2024 and 2025. The funding went to 679 companies but nearly 70% of the funding went to the agency’s ten largest contractors, including CoreCivic.

The deals also include contracts with scores of smaller-scale Tennessee companies that have agreed to supply ICE and CBP with products and services to keep the mechanisms of the ramped-up mass detention and deportation plans running.

Instead of being used to invest in the public good, things like schools, public infrastructure, public services, health care, these tax dollars are being diverted to inflict cruelty and, apparently, to enhance corporate profit.

– Spring Miller, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition