ICE Gains Fast-Track Access to Private Prison Giant as It Plans to Nearly Double Detention Capacity
Navy contract allows immigration agency to bypass normal bidding and hire one of its largest detention operators directly as it plans to add 92,000 beds by November
The federal government has made it significantly easier for Immigration and Customs Enforcement to hire The GEO Group, one of the nation’s largest private prison operators, at the exact moment the agency is racing to expand its detention system by 92,000 beds.
Late Friday night, the Navy added GEO Group and 23 other companies to a Pentagon contracting program that lets ICE bypass the normal months-long competitive bidding process. Now, when ICE needs to staff, supply or operate a detention facility, it can call GEO directly and issue a work order within weeks.
The timing comes amid public outrage across the U.S. as ICE races to buy private warehouses for use as detention processing centers. ICE has already purchased nine warehouses across seven states for $631 million, creating space for 41,500 people. The agency’s goal is to reach 92,600 beds by November — nearly double its newly purchased capacity — according to internal planning documents released Thursday by New Hampshire Gov. Kelly Ayotte.
GEO Group already operates 19 ICE detention facilities around the country. The company's board includes Julie Myers Wood, who ran ICE from 2006 to 2008 under President George W. Bush.
Through this new arrangement, ICE can award the company billions in additional contracts over the next decade without holding separate competitions each time.
A Pre-Approved Vendor List
The contract is called WEXMAC TITUS — the Worldwide Expeditionary Multiple Award Contract for Territorial Integrity of the United States. It was designed for military logistics, but ICE is now using it to speed up detention expansion.
Normally, when a federal agency wants to buy property or hire a contractor, it must go through a lengthy process — post a public solicitation, accept competing bids, evaluate proposals, and often get congressional approval for major real estate deals. This can take up to several months or more.
WEXMAC eliminates most of those steps. The 24 companies awarded contracts Friday are pre-qualified. ICE can issue what’s called a “task order” — essentially a specific work assignment — to any of them without starting the process over.
For GEO Group, this means guaranteed access to compete for ICE work worth potentially billions of dollars. The company reported $2.3 billion in revenue last year, with immigration detention as a major business line.
NBC News reported last week that companies seeking ICE warehouse contracts must already hold agreements with the U.S. Navy. WEXMAC creates exactly that connection.
The 23 other companies provide supporting services: medical care, construction, security, interpretation, logistics. But GEO is the only major detention facility operator on the list, making it the most significant addition for ICE’s expansion plans.
Nine Warehouses Purchased, More Planned
ICE has been buying warehouses at an unprecedented pace. The nine facilities purchased so far include properties in Surprise, Ariz.; Tremont, Pa.; and Williamsport, Md. — all acquired through private sales that did not seek local government approval.
The purchases have removed an estimated $3.1 million annually from local property tax rolls, according to Project Salt Box’s property records and tax assessment analysis. In Maryland, ICE’s $102.4 million warehouse purchase eliminated roughly $300,000 in annual tax revenue.
ICE held over 70,000 people in detention as of last month, up 74 percent since the Trump administration took office in January 2025. Internal documents show the agency plans to spend $38.3 billion on detention facilities by the end of this year.
Communities have resisted where possible. Kansas City passed a five-year ban on new detention centers. A Canadian developer reversed plans to sell ICE a warehouse in Virginia. Local opposition stopped deals in Oklahoma City.
But the WEXMAC contracts, which run through 2034, give ICE a streamlined path around many of those obstacles. Once a warehouse is purchased, the agency can quickly hire the companies needed to convert it into a functioning detention center.
Lawmakers Bypassed as Purchases Accelerate
The arrangement also reduces congressional oversight. While the overall contract awards are public, individual task orders — specifying which company gets hired for which facility and at what cost — may not be disclosed until work has already begun.
Rep. Rick Larsen of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told Bloomberg Law last month he had not seen documentation for any of ICE’s detention center purchases despite the buying spree.
Even some Republicans who support ICE’s mission want more information. Rep. Paul Gosar of Arizona wrote to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem seeking details about a facility in his district. The department “has an obligation to work cooperatively with state and local officials,” he wrote.
Government contracting executives told NBC News that converting warehouses to hold thousands of detainees creates serious challenges, including difficulty staffing facilities in rural areas and strain on local water and sewage systems.
One government contractor, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation from the Department of Homeland Security, said ICE is fast-tracking warehouse purchases and bypassing standard due diligence assessments of the sites. The contractor said the agency is not conducting proper infrastructure reviews for facilities that were never designed to handle thousands of people, skipping assessments of water systems, sewage capacity and electrical load in order to accelerate the timeline.
A Complete Logistics Infrastructure in 24 Companies
The full list of companies awarded WEXMAC contracts Friday includes:
GEO Group operates 19 ICE detention facilities nationwide and specializes in secure facility management and detention operations.
AIM World Services provides global labor and workforce management for contingency sites, offering rapid-deployment staffing solutions.
Alliance Global Group delivers aviation maintenance and logistics for transport operations. The company is a service-disabled veteran-owned small business.
AMI Expeditionary Healthcare offers medical screening and clinical care for migrant processing.
Atlas Advisors supplies linguists and cultural experts for intake and interviews.
Cart.com manages supply chain software for tracking facility inventory, providing AI-driven logistics and automated fulfillment systems.
Dynamic Group handles disaster recovery and infrastructure projects for federal sites.
Global Dimensions provides intelligence analysis and translation services.
King & George executes base operations and facility maintenance, including fleet repair services.
Liberation Technology Services develops secure digital systems for data management.
Longview International modernizes IT systems for mission-critical data and digital infrastructure.
Luke & Associates staffs federal facilities with healthcare professionals and medical personnel.
Metrea Special Aerospace operates aerial surveillance and intelligence aircraft for special mission aviation.
MLU Services constructs turnkey workforce housing and temporary shelters, specializing in large-scale camp construction.
Parliament manages administrative facilities and cold-chain logistics for sensitive supply operations.
Recovery Logistics restores infrastructure after emergencies or site deployment, focusing on disaster recovery.
RK Strategic Management deploys modular basecamps and rapid-response structures, offering turnkey solutions for temporary cities.
Rock-It Cargo transports heavy and time-sensitive equipment for extreme logistics operations.
Shipping Consultants Associated provides maritime life support and naval “husbanding” services.
Starside Security executes protective services and secure detention transport operations.
The Millennium Group performs contingency contracting and emergency response logistics.
World Kinect supplies fuel and energy for land, marine and air assets, providing global refueling services.
ISS Action delivers mobile security and risk management, offering protective security services.
Planate Management Group provides engineering and base operations in challenging and remote environments.
In addition, three companies received contract awards with $45 billion ceilings:
SGK Global Services assembles force protection equipment and contingency deployment kits.
Crowley Government Services manages bulk freight and maritime supply chains.
Offize consults on physical distribution and mission planning, providing logistics expertise.
Your work on this is truly invaluable. Thank you for helping us stay informed. I live about 40 minutes from the Williamsport site and attended the protests at the BOCC meetings. Absolutely disgusted by how this was handled by those so called leaders who refused to allow any public comment.
Full tilt harassment and public pressure . this makes me sick. Letter writing to all those companies listed?