Readout of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement meeting with GEO Group

WASHINGTON - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials met with GEO Group representatives last week to discuss detention operations. Because the detention landscape continuously evolves, close partnerships with private detention contractors such as the GEO Group are an important part of the agency's ability to manage its detained docket.

ICE, which enforces the laws Congress sets forth, is required to detain noncitizens who pose public safety threats, those who threaten national security and those who must be detained by law. However, immigration detention is not punitive. Instead, it's in place to further noncitizens' immigration proceedings, and when ordered by the Department of Justice's Executive Office for Immigration Review, to facilitate noncitizens' removal from the United States.

The agency's ability to detain and remove noncitizens is directly dependent on bedspace availability. ICE continues to modernize processes and realize cost efficiencies while working with the Department of Homeland Security leaders and Congress to secure resources for detention.

ICE officials routinely meet with stakeholders, including state, local, tribal and territorial governments, elected officials and law enforcement professionals. Representatives also meet with private-sector entities, faith- and activism-based organizations, and colleges and universities to ensure future decisions that fall under ICE's purview are fact-based, data-driven, humane and effective.