Wackenhut Corrections wins first federal immigration detention contract, creating the company that becomes GEO Group

Wackenhut Corrections Corporation — the prison subsidiary of the Wackenhut security firm — won its first federal immigration detention contract with the INS in 1985, establishing the second major private operator in the federal detention market. Wackenhut's entry created a duopoly with CCA that shaped immigration detention contracting for four decades. The company rebranded as The GEO Group in 2003, and by 2024 was the largest private immigration detention contractor in the United States, with more than 80 facilities and $2.4 billion in annual revenue.