Private prison contractors have spent millions lobbying for immigration detention dollars since President Donald Trump returned to the White House last January.

GEO Group spent nearly $1.4 million last year lobbying federal lawmakers and the Trump administration on issues related to appropriations, immigration enforcement and “alternatives to detention,” according to federal lobbying disclosures.

Since Trump retook office, the federal government has collectively awarded GEO Group and its subsidiaries more than $1 billion for detention centers and services, according to federal contracting data available on USASpending.gov.

GEO Group’s 2025 federal lobbying spending is in line with recent years, and down slightly from its spike in spending during Trump’s first term. But GEO Group has signed three new lobbying firms, including one led by Ches McDowell, Donald Trump Jr.’s avowed hunting buddy.

CoreCivic has not hired any new lobbyists since Trump took office, maintaining 10 in-house and hired lobbying guns, but the company increased its spending on federal lobbying in 2025 to nearly $2 million, up from $1.8 million in 2024.

That’s more money than CoreCivic has spent on federal lobbying in a single year since 2007, during President George W. Bush’s second term. And since Trump’s inauguration, CoreCivic has received more than $544 million for detention and reentry services, according to USASpending.gov.

Both companies stress that they do not lobby for or against immigration enforcement policies, per se.