Setting the record straight on our long-standing work for ICE and the federal government

By Johnny Choate, Opinion Contributor. It is disheartening to open a newspaper or turn on the TV only to see misleading information and politically-driven insinuations about the services The GEO Group (GEO) provides to the federal government. I have been a proud employee at GEO for more than 20 years, and currently serve as the facility administrator of the Aurora ICE Processing Center, which was established in 1986 on a contract with ICE’s predecessor, the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). While it makes for a popular talking point to suggest The GEO Group plays a role in public policy decisions, the truth is quite the opposite. GEO does not take positions on, nor advocate for or against, any immigration enforcement policies, which includes laws governing detention of noncitizens.