ICE hires private bounty hunters to locate migrants

• ICE hires private bounty hunters company
• GEO Group involved
• Migrants as targets

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has hired a subsidiary of the for-profit prison corporation GEO Group to locate migrants at their homes and workplaces, according to an investigation by The Intercept.

The contracted company, BI Incorporated, specializes in “missing person tracking” and was acquired by GEO Group in 2011.

The agreement is part of a new U.S. government program that includes the use of private bounty hunters to help federal agents locate and detain migrants.

In exchange for these services, the companies receive monetary compensation funded with public resources.

Migrant bounty hunters and multimillion-dollar contracts

🟠 ICE hired bounty hunters to locate migrants at their homes and workplaces.
It will pay $1.6 million to a GEO Group subsidiary, a company that made donations to President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign. pic.twitter.com/3x2JnoNLEX

— La Jornada (@lajornadaonline) December 21, 2025

Official records show that ICE paid $1.6 million to BI Incorporated as an initial part of the agreement.

The contract allows for total payments of up to $121 million through 2027.

Available information does not specify whether the company will conduct physical searches in the field, investigations supported by software, or a combination of both.

According to the report, the corporation will receive federal funds both for locating migrants and for incarcerating them in detention centers.

This structure places the same company at multiple stages of the immigration detention process.

The business of migrant detention

ICE hired bounty hunters to locate migrants https://t.co/SfyMuPlgHT

— La Jornada Maya (@LaJornadaMaya) December 21, 2025

The agreement illustrates a strategy of vertical integration within GEO Group, which has expanded its profit-driven business model around migrant detention.

The company already operates immigration detention centers and now adds contracts related to locating individuals for subsequent arrest.

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The Intercept notes that this line of business has grown during the second administration of President Donald Trump.

In that context, the outlet reported that GEO Group’s stock surged following Trump’s return to the White House.

The company also made donations to both the president’s reelection campaign and his inaugural fund.

Official rhetoric and public messaging

Amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration crackdown, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a Christmas message on its official X account.

“This Christmas, our hearts grow bigger as our illegal population shrinks,” the message stated.

The post was accompanied by a compilation of videos celebrating the alleged success of mass deportations.

According to the report, the content seeks to reinforce a mocking tone toward migrant communities.

The agreement between ICE and BI Incorporated fits within that same political and operational climate surrounding immigration enforcement in the United States, further fueling debate over the ICE migrant bounty hunters strategy.