CoreCivic, the private prison company based in Brentwood, Tenn., urged U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Thursday, two days after the Democratic Party’s historic wins in the 2026 midterm elections, to move quickly on buying more of its detention facilities, after selling four to the federal government for about $1.3 billion in profit after taxes.
Lucibeth Mayberry, CoreCivic’s president and CEO, spoke Thursday on a call with investors about the company’s third-quarter results, for July through September. She said CoreCivic is still in talks to sell more facilities. She said the price of the ones already sold “rests on the appraiser’s independent conclusion.” In other words, the price depends on what an independent appraiser decides the buildings are worth.
Mayberry said buying more facilities is a key part of the expansion of immigration detention. Asked whether the election results could affect those talks, she said the company is as ready as it was before the election and urged ICE to move quickly.
Mayberry called the sales “cash generating events.” She said they let the company pay off debt and buy back its own stock. She credited CoreCivic’s “strong third quarter results” to increased deportations and immigration sweeps across the country.
In a quarterly report filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, CoreCivic said it sold four facilities with 7,187 beds to the Department of Homeland Security for $2.2 billion, before taxes and costs. They are the California City and Otay Mesa facilities in California, the Appleton Detention Facility in Minnesota, and the Midwest Regional Reception Center. The sales closed on July 2 and Aug. 4.
The report says the sales produced a gain of about $1.8 billion, and about $500 million went to taxes. CoreCivic’s net income, which is its profit after all costs and taxes, was $1.34 billion for the quarter. A year earlier, it was $26.3 million.
We want to know more. Project Salt Box researchers are seeking information on facility appraisals, sale negotiations, and detention capacity. If you have firsthand knowledge of these deals, you can reach us at projectsaltbox@proton.me or on Signal at mwriston.410.
David Garfinkle, the company’s chief financial officer, said CoreCivic used the sale money to pay off debt. The report puts the amount repaid at more than $700 million. Garfinkle said the company expects to save more than $40 million a year in debt interest payments.
Garfinkle said CoreCivic believes its stock is worth more than its current price and will keep buying back its shares. A buyback is when a company purchases its own shares from investors. He said the company also plans to use its new cash to buy more assets and grow.
The report says that on Aug. 10 the company agreed to a $500 million deal with a bank to speed up its buyback. Under this kind of deal, called an accelerated stock repurchase, the company pays the bank up front and gets a large batch of its shares right away. The company also raised its total buyback limit to $1.7 billion, with $755.8 million still available.
Detention Population at a High
Mayberry said its detained population is reaching record levels again, with populations at recently activated facilities growing quickly.
She reported 18,283 people detained in its facilities as of Sept. 30, up 8,100, or about 80%, since the start of 2025. Its average daily population rose by 3,302 in the third quarter, including 1,161 from five facilities activated since 2025.
As of Sept. 30, 1,943 people were detained at California City, 1,950 at the Diamondback Correctional Facility, and 451 at the Midwest facility, which began accepting people in March. The company also listed four idle facilities containing 5,500 beds.
Mayberry said the Appleton facility is expected to open by the end of 2026. The report says CoreCivic holds a five-year ICE contract there that is expected to bring in about $75 million a year once the facility is fully operating.
Questions on Capacity
An analyst at Noble Capital noted that the company’s supplemental report shows some facilities running above 100% of capacity, and asked how long that could last and whether it adds costs.
Garfinkle said facilities over 100% are typically transient, that he would not expect additional expenses beyond possible overtime pay, and that the company could hold those levels for perhaps 30 or 60 days. CoreCivic’s position is that “running over rated capacity does not imply overcrowding.”
Mayberry said the company’s buildings are designed with ample square footage. There may not be a bed for every square foot, she said, but there is plenty of space.
She said CoreCivic will not install permanent beds because doing so would limit its ability to add space when needed, and that the buildings were built for this kind of use, which makes them a good option for ICE.
Outlook for More Sales
An analyst at Northland Securities asked what ICE’s behavior would look like after the election. Mayberry said the environment is stable for the agency to operate and ramp up, that it continues to enter contracts, and that it is increasing enforcement.
Asked whether the election could affect talks about further sales, which the company has called preliminary, she said the discussions are preliminary but that CoreCivic would urge ICE to move quickly, and that it is as ready as it was before the election.
Asked about ICE’s turn away from warehouses as an alternative to existing detention centers, Mayberry said the agency has a few warehouse sites it is focused on but has moved away from the approach. She called that a prudent move, citing what she described as the company’s safe and humane offerings.
Garfinkle said CoreCivic has seen no pushback on per diem rates from state or federal partners, and that 2026 was a good year for rate increases. The company’s updated full-year guidance excludes any additional facility sales to ICE.
Project Salt Box researchers listened to the call live. This article draws on those notes and on CoreCivic’s filings.
Follow the money behind $420 million ICE grift. What's behind the $420M discrepancy with your tax dollars in ICE's recent prison purchase. CoreCivic sold the vacant facility for $495M after asking just $75M. Who authorized this?
https://thedemlabs.org/2026/11/04/ice-420-million-prison-grift/
Core civic, we are going to claw every overvalued cent from you. No more money or you will pay double back, you stupid sh-tbags. America, the thug worshipping, incoherent, oral sewer of the world!