ICE awards GEO Group a 10-year, roughly $1.5 billion contract to keep running the Tacoma detention center; lawmakers say it was the only bid (Oct. 27-30, 2026)

Case

ICE awarded GEO Group a 10-year contract, described by Rep. Pramila Jayapal as worth about $1.5 billion and by GEO as about $140 million a year, to keep operating the 1,635-bed Tacoma facility through Oct. 2036. Reps. Jayapal and Emily Randall say GEO was the only bidder and Randall called for an investigation; GEO calls it a 40-year partnership with ICE. Contract details have not been made public, and ICE had not been quoted in the reporting reviewed.

What was reported
ICE awarded GEO Group a 10-year contract to keep running the 1,635-bed Northwest ICE Processing Center in Tacoma; GEO's previous 10-year contract ended in 2025.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal called it a $1.5 billion contract; GEO put it at about $140 million in annual revenue. The term runs through Oct. 27, 2036.
The contract covers security, food, maintenance, medical care and transportation.
Reps. Jayapal and Emily Randall say, based on information available to lawmakers, that only one company submitted a bid; Randall called for an investigation of a possible 'story of corruption' over no-bid contracts.
Jayapal said GEO and CEO George Zoley donated heavily to Trump's re-election campaign and called it 'pay-to-play'; the KUOW report presents this as the lawmakers' characterization and FOX 13's report does not mention donations.
Jayapal said she understands the contract says the facility need not follow state laws or inspections, but her office is awaiting details; KUOW notes contract terms have not been made public.
KUOW reports detainee accounts of illness, inconsistent medical care and poor water quality at the facility, and that GEO resists state health inspectors and does not pay detained workers Washington's minimum wage.

Perspectives

Defender — GEO Group (CEO George Zoley)
Zoley said GEO is proud of its 40-year public-private partnership with ICE and that the facility helps meet federal demand for immigration processing bedspace. The release did not address the lawmakers' concerns about the bidding.

Critic — Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Emily Randall; Tacoma council members
Randall says only one bid was considered and wants an investigation; Jayapal calls GEO's political giving 'pay-to-play' and says her office is awaiting contract details from ICE. Tacoma Councilmember Sandesh Sadalge said a for-profit business should not incarcerate people.

Note
GEO says it is proud of its long partnership with ICE; the single-bidder and donor allegations come from lawmakers and are not findings, and ICE has not explained the award in the reporting reviewed.

Sources
[1] KUOW — Feds approve $1.5 billion contract for GEO Group to continue running Tacoma ICE lockup (https://www.kuow.org/immigration/2026-10-29/feds-approve-1-5-billion-contract-for-geo-group-to-continue-running-tacoma-ice-center) · 2026-10-29
[2] FOX 13 Seattle via Yahoo News — GEO Group gets 10-year contract for Tacoma, WA ICE detention center (https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/geo-group-gets-10-contract-021015006.html) · 2026-10-30

Connections

Related — ICE buys Appleton, Minn. prison from CoreCivic for $495.6 million after the firm offered it to the state for $75 million; Bessent says "I don't know anything about that" (Oct. 29-30, 2026)
Another large private-detention deal reported the same week.

Same context — ICE detention funding surge and private contractor revenue (2025-2026)
Specific contract within the broader ICE detention funding surge and private-contractor revenue.