Private prison industry backs Trump, prepares if Biden wins

HOUSTON (AP) — Executives at the nation’s two largest private prison companies have been donating large sums to President Donald Trump and Republican candidates with an eye toward the November elections that one of the corporations believes will lead to a rebound in its stock price.

The fortunes of private prison companies have become increasingly intertwined with the nation’s politics in an era when the Trump administration has been detaining tens of thousands of immigrants and asylum seekers at their facilities. Together, CoreCivic and GEO Group made about $1.3 billion last year in contracts with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Each company relies on ICE for around 30% of its revenue.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden has committed to ending the use of private prisons for detention after facing pressure from Bernie Sanders and other liberals, who argue for-profit detention is tied to racial injustice and policies that lead to more incarceration.

Biden's pledge would be a major change from when he was vice president during President Barack Obama’s administration, which opened family detention centers in Texas operated by both companies and deported more than 3 million people.

Positioning themselves for the future, GEO and CoreCivic recently agreed to long-term contracts with the Trump administration for several immigration detention centers in Texas and California. Those agreements would be difficult to unwind if Biden wins.

They are also spending heavily to help Republicans win.

George Zoley, GEO Group's founder and CEO, has given $514,800 to Republicans and just $10,000 to Democrats during the current election cycle, campaign finance records show. According to the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics, people and groups linked to GEO have given more than $1.7 million, mostly to...