Under President Donald Trump, the value of the for-profit prison company GEO Group increased significantly, with investors showing confidence in immigration detention. GEO Group’s stock value doubled post-Election Day. Despite this financial upswing, the $4 billion company has resisted efforts to increase the pay of detainees beyond the $1 per day they receive for cleaning the facilities where they are detained by the government.
At the Tacoma, Washington detention center, managed by GEO for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), detainees previously undertook tasks such as meal preparation, laundry, and cleaning, which the company estimated would otherwise require 85 full-time employees. At the time, the state minimum wage was $11 per hour, which has since increased to $16.66. In 2017, Washington state filed a lawsuit against GEO to enforce the minimum wage, leading to a federal jury ruling in favor of the state in October 2021.
The legal dispute has resurfaced this year as GEO attempts to overturn the previous ruling favoring Washington. In response to these proceedings, GEO has employed contract cleaners at the Tacoma facility, effectively removing detainees from paid work opportunities, which also eliminates their ability to earn money for commissary purchases.
This legal conflict has broader implications due to the increasing number of ICE detainees, reaching the highest levels in five years. Most detainees are held in private facilities operated by GEO or other corporations such as CoreCivic. Should adherence to state minimum wages become the standard, the financial implications of Trump’s immigration policies could rise, unless private detention centers absorb these costs or reduce cleaning efforts, as some detainees at Tacoma have alleged GEO has done.
GEO characterizes the lawsuit as a matter of federal authority, arguing that the Fair Labor Standards Act does not cover detained migrants, with state minimum wage being the focus in Tacoma’s case. GEO released a news statement asserting that Washington has violated the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause. The company declined to comment when approached by ProPublica, and so did ICE and CoreCivic.
Last month, GEO filed another legal action. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld previous court decisions requiring GEO to pay the state minimum wage at Tacoma facility, and mandated the payment of $17 million in back wages plus $6 million for “unjust enrichment,” which is less than 1% of GEO’s 2024 total revenues.
Instead of complying, GEO petitioned for a rehearing by the full 9th Circuit on February 6, asserting its intent to appeal vigorously. In legal filings, GEO has expressed that the company can afford to pay the judgments multiple times over, with Tacoma facility profits standing at approximately $20 million annually at the initiation of the lawsuit.
The precedent set by the Tacoma case is GEO’s primary concern, as the company faces similar lawsuits in California and Colorado. The proceedings in California are paused pending the outcome of Washington’s case, while Colorado’s case is progressing through a lower court.
GEO may potentially advance the case to the Supreme Court if necessary. If compelled to pay state minimum wages nationwide, GEO might opt to increase detainee pay or hire external employees, which could affect profits, stock value, and dividends. Alternatively, GEO might renegotiate ICE contracts for higher reimbursements, as suggested by incarceration expert Lauren-Brooke Eisen.
Following the 2021 jury ruling, GEO halted Tacoma’s Voluntary Work Program rather than paying detainees minimum wage, limiting some detainees’ ability to afford phone calls to their families. Conditions reportedly deteriorated within the facility, with no one cleaning the area until GEO eventually brought in contract cleaners.
Testimony at the trial highlighted issues with detainee housing in private prisons, driven by profit motives, as stated by Mike Faulk, spokesperson for the Washington state attorney general’s office. Detainees in Tacoma are said to be paid $1 daily for cleaning, with meals budgeted at under $1 each, resulting in reported poor food quality.
GEO argues that Washington targets the Tacoma facility with standards not imposed on state facilities, noting an exemption in Washington law allows state prisons to pay prisoners no more than $40 per week. This point aligns with arguments presented by the federal government, supporting GEO throughout both Trump’s and Biden’s administrations, as reiterated by a dissenting judge in a recent 9th Circuit decision.
However, the 9th Circuit rejected the comparison between state prisons and privately run immigration facilities, noting differences in operations and legal status of detainees. GEO’s ICE contract stipulates adherence to all relevant federal, state, and local laws, requiring at least $1 per day payment to detainees for the Voluntary Work Program. The federal government intentionally sets the minimum rate without setting a maximum.
As detainee numbers rise, conditions at Tacoma worsen, according to Maru Mora Villalpando, founder of La Resistencia, an activist group maintaining regular contact with detainees. Meal services reportedly delayed, and cleaning efforts lagging, as outside cleaners are unable to keep up, according to Mora Villalpando’s observations.
