(José Niño, Headline USA) Two Democratic campaign organizations collected hundreds of thousands of dollars from a private prison company that contracts directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, even as the party’s leaders escalated their attacks on federal immigration operations.
The Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association together received a six-figure sum from CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prison firm and ICE contractor, according to a POLITICO review of campaign finance records. The two organizations confirmed the contributions but responded differently. The DGA kept the funds while the DLGA announced it would donate them to a pro-immigration group.
The Daily Caller noted that the report landed as Democratic elected officials across the country sharpened their criticism of ICE following the fatal January shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis.
A November 2023 email from a DLGA staffer to CoreCivic, obtained by Politico, requested a $50,000 donation from the ICE contractor for the 2024 election cycle.
DLGA spokesperson Christina Freundlich told Politico the organization will be “donating any 2024-2025 contributions from CoreCivic to the National Immigration Law Center,” a group that describes itself as advancing the rights and opportunities of low-income immigrants. Freundlich added the DLGA will “no longer accept” CoreCivic contributions from here on out.
The DGA took a different position, however. A spokesperson justified keeping the money, telling Politico “We strongly condemn the Trump administration’s appalling immigration tactics, and the only way to stop them is by electing more Democrats.” The spokesperson added that “every contribution to the DGA helps elect Democratic governors and none of them have any impact on policy decisions made by governors.”
Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., the DGA’s chair and a reported 2028 presidential prospect, directed Politico to the same DGA statement. Beshear has been among the loudest Democratic critics of federal immigration enforcement.
“They are operating with aggressive tactics that are not appropriate for law enforcement, they are not following our Constitution and giving people their rights,” Beshear told CNN after Border Patrol agents killed Pretti.
“I’ve never seen a government agency push a group of law enforcement to be as aggressive and use the words of aggressiveness that I have with what is being pushed out there on ICE,” Beshear said, according to the Kentucky Lantern.
CoreCivic announced contracts with ICE in September 2025 to utilize 3,593 detention beds at two facilities. “Once fully activated, we expect to generate total annual revenue at the two facilities combined of nearly $200 million,” the company stated in a press release.
CoreCivic Senior Director Ryan Gustin told the Daily Caller News Foundation the company “engages in the political process to include being corporate members of national organizations that represent elected officials around the country and across the political spectrum.”
According to OpenSecrets, CoreCivic gave $62,000 combined to Republican congressional candidates in 2024 while contributing just $2,500 to a single Democratic federal candidate.
José Niño is the deputy editor of Headline USA. Follow him at x.com/JoseAlNino
