GEO Group wins a 10-year ICE contract for a 2,329-bed Texas center and settles a forced-labor suit before trial

The GEO Group said Immigration and Customs Enforcement would use its complex in Big Spring, Texas, as a federal immigration-processing center^1,2. The company will reopen the 2,329-bed facility³.

GEO announced a 10-year contract to operate the center, and its shares rose 4% in premarket trade on Monday⁴. The contract is valued at $200 million⁴. GEO has landed ICE contracts in Texas and Washington amid an acceleration in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities³.

On the same day, GEO reached a settlement with a group of former detainees of the Aurora immigration detention center in Colorado who had accused the company of forced labor^6,9. The deal was struck on Monday ahead of trial⁹, just before the trial was due to begin⁶. Plaintiff attorneys David Seligman and Hans Meyer confirmed the settlement⁷. The lawsuit had been running for 12 years before it was set for trial⁸.

Why it matters to investors

GEO operates for-profit prisons and immigration detention facilities⁷, and the shares moved on the contract news⁴. The Big Spring award adds a decade of contracted use of a large facility^3,4. Its 2,329 beds³ and 10-year term⁴ make it one of the ICE contracts GEO has landed as immigration enforcement accelerates³.

The stock is closely tied to politics. On 6 November 2024, the day after Donald Trump won, shares of GEO jumped about 42%⁵. Investors are now weighing the stock ahead of the midterms⁵.

The company’s political links are also under scrutiny: a total of $12 million in donations has been identified in connection with ICE contractors including CoreCivic, Palantir and GEO Group ahead of the midterms¹⁰.

The settlement removes a trial over claims that the company forced detainees to work^8,9, which former detainees of the Aurora center had brought^6,7.

What to watch

The first marker is the reopening timetable for the 2,329-bed Big Spring center³ and how quickly ICE begins using it for processing¹.

A second is the midterm result, given how sharply the shares moved after the 2024 election⁵.

A third is whether further ICE awards follow the Texas and Washington contracts³, and whether the Aurora settlement closes the forced-labor claims against the company^6,9.