Follow the Money¶
Who Profits from Detention¶
The deportation machine is not just a policy apparatus — it is a financial ecosystem. Private prison companies fund the campaigns of legislators who vote to expand detention. Those legislators appropriate billions to ICE. ICE awards contracts to the same private prison companies. The cycle repeats.
This page documents the financial connections we have verified through FEC filings, OpenSecrets data, lobbying disclosures, and public financial records.
The Circuit¶
Private Prison $ → Congress → ICE Funding → Prison Contracts → More $ → Congress
This is not a pipeline. It is a loop.
Private Prison Industry — The Numbers¶
GEO Group¶
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2024 election cycle total | $3.7 million |
| Trump Super PAC (MAGA) | $1,000,000 |
| Republican Congressional Leadership Fund | $775,000 |
| Senate Leadership Fund | $500,000 |
| 2025 Inaugural Committee | $500,000 |
| Congressional donations (2021-2025) | $280,000+ |
| Lobbying spending (2024) | $1,380,000 |
| New ICE contracts since inauguration | $1 billion+ |
| ICE as share of total revenue | 43% |
| Lobbyists who are former government officials | 10 of 13 |
CoreCivic (formerly CCA)¶
| Category | Amount |
|---|---|
| 2024 election cycle total | $784,974 |
| CEO personal contributions | $816,600 |
| 2025 Inaugural Committee | $500,000 |
| Congressional donations (2021-2025) | $248,000+ |
| Lobbying spending (2024) | $1,770,000 |
| New ICE contracts since inauguration | $544 million+ |
| ICE as share of total revenue | 30% |
Combined Industry Impact¶
- $2.8 million donated to Trump 2024 campaign and inaugural
- $1 million combined inaugural donations (doubled from 2017)
- $1.5 billion+ in new contracts since inauguration
- Stock prices surged 41% (GEO) and 29% (CoreCivic) the day after the 2024 election
Key Conflicts of Interest¶
Attorney General Pam Bondi¶
Before becoming the nation's top law enforcement officer, Bondi lobbied for GEO Group at Ballard Partners, receiving $390,000 in fees.
As Attorney General, she now:
- Oversees all immigration courts
- Controls DOJ immigration enforcement policy
- Has authority to certify appeals to the Board of Immigration Appeals (affecting detention length)
- Has not recused herself despite demands from Senator Dick Durbin
Since her confirmation:
- GEO Group has received $1 billion+ in new contracts
- Zero civil rights investigations opened into 59 custody deaths
- DOJ directed FBI, DEA, ATF, and Marshals to share biometric data with DHS for immigration enforcement
Recusal Demanded, Refused
"We call on you to recuse yourself from any and all DOJ activities, communications, or policy decisions related to immigration detention, enforcement, and contracting that could directly or indirectly benefit the GEO Group." — Senator Dick Durbin, Senate Judiciary Committee
Bondi has not recused.
John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democrat who voted to confirm her.
Stephen Miller — Deputy Chief of Staff¶
The architect of mass deportation policy personally profits from it.
- Owns $100,001 – $250,000 in Palantir stock (held in child's brokerage account)
- Palantir builds ICE's surveillance infrastructure, including ImmigrationOS — an AI system that tracks immigrants "from identification to removal"
- Palantir received a $30 million no-bid contract for ImmigrationOS in January 2025
- Total Palantir federal contracts since inauguration: $900 million+
- Palantir stock has gained 483% in the past year
- 11 White House staffers own Palantir stock, per financial disclosures analyzed by POGO
The Man Who Profits from the Machine He Built
Miller designs the policy. Palantir builds the tools. ICE executes the operations. People die in custody. Miller's stock goes up.
This is not a conspiracy theory. It is a matter of public financial disclosure.
Congress — Who Takes the Money¶
Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28)¶
Ranking Member, House Appropriations DHS Subcommittee
The Democrat most responsible for ICE's budget is also the #1 Democratic recipient of private prison money in Congress.
| Donor | Career Total |
|---|---|
| GEO Group | $54,690 |
| CoreCivic | $10,000+ |
| MTC | $24,300+ |
| Private prison total | $88,990 |
His district on the I-35 corridor north of Laredo contains three privately-run ICE detention facilities — known locally as "Detention Alley."
When asked about the donations: "They employ my constituents."
Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23)¶
House Appropriations + Homeland Security Committees
| Donor | Amount |
|---|---|
| AIPAC (direct) | $609,921 (2023-24, top contributor) |
| AIPAC + Israel lobby total | $2,000,000+ |
His district includes the Camp East Montana facility at Fort Bliss, where 3 people have died in six weeks:
- Luis Gustavo Nunez Caceres — December 22, 2025
- Geraldo Lunas Campos — January 3, 2026 (ruled HOMICIDE)
- Victor Manuel Diaz — January 14, 2026 (autopsy diverted to military hospital)
AIPAC is his #1 donor. He sits on the committees that fund and oversee the facility where people are dying.
The AIPAC Connection¶
AIPAC's role in the deportation machine is indirect but significant:
- $126.9 million spent in 2024 cycle (PAC + United Democracy Project combined)
- Spent across 389 congressional races
- Successfully defeated progressive challengers who opposed ICE expansion:
- Jamaal Bowman (NY) — defeated
- Cori Bush (MO) — defeated
- Spent $2 million+ protecting Tony Gonzales from a primary challenger
The pattern: AIPAC funds legislators who support both Israeli military aid and U.S. immigration enforcement expansion. Progressives who challenge either policy are targeted for removal.
Palantir — The Surveillance Layer¶
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Federal contracts since Jan 2025 | $900 million+ |
| ImmigrationOS contract (no-bid) | $30 million |
| White House staffers with stock | 11+ |
| Miller's personal stake | $100K – $250K |
| Stock performance (1 year) | +483% |
Palantir's ImmigrationOS provides ICE with:
- Cross-database searches (passport, SSA, IRS, license plates)
- AI-driven profiles of enforcement targets
- "Near real-time visibility" into self-deportation rates
- Case tracking "from identification to removal"
ICE awarded the contract without competition, claiming no other company could meet their needs.
The $55 Billion Question¶
The TITUS contract — $55 billion allocated by the Navy for detention camp construction — represents the largest single investment in the deportation machine. That is more than double NASA's entire annual budget.
Who will build these camps? Who will operate them? Follow the money.
Methodology¶
All financial data on this page is sourced from:
- OpenSecrets.org — FEC filing aggregator
- FEC.gov — Federal Election Commission filings
- CREW — Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
- POGO — Project On Government Oversight
- The Appeal — investigative journalism
- Public financial disclosures (White House, OGE)
Every dollar figure cited is from verified public records. This page will be updated as additional financial data is compiled.
Data Exports¶
Financial connection data is available for download:
- dark-money-connections.json — Machine-readable financial connections database
Last updated: February 13, 2026
Mortui vivos docent — the dead teach the living.