California Lawmakers Raise Alarms After Private Prison Official Named Acting ICE | KQED

"A former GEO Group executive is expected to serve as the next acting chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, revitalizing concerns from California lawmakers and immigration activists over conflicts of interest between private prison companies and high-level Trump administration officials. ICE has been rapidly growing its footprint since the Trump administration took office last year, leasing properties across the country and opening new detention facilities, including two operated by GEO Group in California."

"Activists in the state have raised alarms about possible further expansion - including at the site of a shuttered East Bay women's prison and in Santa Clara County near Gilroy, where the Department of Homeland Security leased 24 acres of land last January, the San José Spotlight first reported. Stacy Suh, the program director of Detention Watch Network, a national group working to abolish immigration detention, said that there is a "revolving door" between ICE and the private prison industry that raises questions of influence over contracts."

""Venturella has spent his entire career on expanding immigration detention," Suh told KQED. "I think it shows this conflict of interest where GEO Group and all these other private contractors are just so excited to cash in on this detention expansion plan and have an industry insider be at the helm of ICE." GEO Group announced in February that 2025 was its "most successful year for new business,""

A former GEO Group executive is expected to become acting chief of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, raising concerns among California lawmakers and immigration activists. ICE has expanded quickly since the Trump administration took office, leasing properties nationwide and opening new detention facilities, including two run by GEO Group in California. Activists warn that additional expansion could occur, including at a shuttered East Bay women’s prison and near Gilroy in Santa Clara County, where the Department of Homeland Security leased 24 acres of land. Critics cite a revolving-door relationship between ICE and the private prison industry and question whether industry insiders influence detention contracts. GEO Group reported strong growth in new business for 2025.

Read at Kqed