"The Trump administration announced Tuesday that former private prison executive David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an acting capacity after the agency's current director departs at the end of the month. Venturella has been a senior adviser to ICE since February 2025 and previously worked at the private prison giant GEO Group for more than a decade, most recently serving as the company's senior vice president of client relations until 2023."
"GEO Group is a major beneficiary of federal contracts, running immigration detention centers for ICE. The Washington Post noted that GEO Group also "owns the only company with an ICE contract to track immigrants through GPS ankle monitors." "A federal ethics rule generally bars government employees from working on contracts awarded to their former employers for one year, but the administration granted him a waiver from this rule," the Post observed."
"GEO Group's PAC donated heavily to President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign and has seen a hefty return on its investment. The company reported $254 million in profits for fiscal year 2025 - a 700% increase compared to the previous year - and boasted "record-setting new contract wins totaling up to $520 million.""
"As an ICE adviser, Venturella has advocated for the use of warehouses to detain immigrants, a practice that has drawn nationwide outrage."
The Trump administration announced that David Venturella will lead U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in an acting capacity after the current director leaves at the end of the month. Venturella has served as a senior adviser to ICE since February 2025 and previously worked for GEO Group for more than a decade, most recently as senior vice president of client relations until 2023. GEO Group holds federal contracts that run immigration detention centers for ICE and also provides GPS ankle-monitor tracking. A federal ethics rule would normally bar government employees from working on contracts awarded to former employers for one year, but the administration granted Venturella a waiver. GEO Group’s political action committee donated heavily to Trump’s 2024 campaign, and the company reported major profit growth and record contract wins. Venturella has advocated for warehouse-style detention of immigrants, which has drawn widespread outrage.
#immigration-and-customs-enforcement #private-prison-industry #federal-contracts #political-campaign-donations #ethics-and-waivers
Read at Truthout
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]