Executives at private prison firm CoreCivic expect ‘significant growth’ due to Trump’s policies

Executives at private prison firm CoreCivic expect ‘significant growth’ due to Trump’s policies
Darrin Klimek/Getty Images

(NEW YORK) — Executives at CoreCivic, one of the nation’s largest private prison companies, said they anticipate the Trump administration’s new immigration policies will lead to “the most significant growth” in the company’s history over the next several years.

“I’ve worked at CoreCivic for 32 years, and this is truly one of the most exciting periods of my career,” CEO Damon Hininger said Tuesday on the company’s earnings call. “We anticipate significant growth opportunities, perhaps the most significant growth in our company’s history over the next several years.”

“The change in presidential administration on Jan. 20 has ushered in significant policy and legislative changes that directly impact our business,” Hininger said on the public call, which comes as Immigration and Customs Enforcement has increased its apprehensions of people alleged to be in the country illegally.

Hininger told shareholders that the company is taking proactive steps to prepare facilities and beds in anticipation of potential new contracts with ICE.

CoreCivic executives on the call said they currently speak almost “hourly” with ICE officials and with members of the administration, and have “active tours going on” at their facilities.

“We’ve got a proposal in front of ICE for 28,000 beds,” one executive said, adding that the offer could result in more than a billion dollars in revenue for the company.

The 28,000 beds offered to ICE comes from vacant facilities that are not currently activated, as well as from availability in existing facilities and from the South Texas Family Residential Center, the nation’s largest migrant detention center that was closed in 2024, executives said.

ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.

In response to questions about the administration’s decision to use Guantanamo Bay and a prison in El Salvador to hold migrant detainees, executives for CoreCivic said they believe their facilities are “superior” to the alternatives when it comes to cost and logistics.

“We’ve got a real advantage on the cost side, especially in this environment. We’ve got DOGE out there looking at the best value for the government,” Hininger said, referencing Elon Musk’s new Department of Government Efficiency.

The CoreCivic CEO also said he believes the company’s facilities are less likely to face litigation, and said they are “more humane than the other alternatives.”

“We’re feeling very encouraged by the conversations with ICE to date,” Hininger said. “We’ve got a lot of activity going on in the organization, a lot of opportunities, so it’s a very exciting time within the company.”

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Suspects in Border Patrol agent’s killing in Vermont surveilled for days, had cellphones wrapped in foil
Suspects in Border Patrol agent’s killing in Vermont surveilled for days, had cellphones wrapped in foil
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(CONVENTRY, Vt.) — An arrest has been made in the fatal shooting of a U.S. Border Patrol agent during a traffic stop in Vermont, according to the FBI, as bizarre details of the suspects’ movements beforehand have been revealed in the arrest affidavit.

Teresa Youngblut, 21, of Washington state, was arrested on Friday and charged with assault on a federal law enforcement officer, according to a statement from the FBI.

The affidavit unsealed by investigators reveals some new details about the movements of the two individuals who were involved in the fatal shooting of Border Patrol agent David Maland.

Since Jan. 14, investigators had been conducting “periodic surveillance” on Youngblut and Felix Baukholt, a German national who was killed during the shooting, after they were reported as suspicious by someone who was staying at the same hotel as the pair, according to court records.

“An employee of a hotel in Lyndonville, Vermont contacted law enforcement after a male and a female had checked into the hotel to report concerns about them, including that they appeared to be dressed in all-black tactical style clothing with protective equipment, with the woman, later identified as Youngblut, carrying an apparent firearm in an exposed-carry holster,” according to charges unsealed in Vermont federal court on Friday.

Agents from the Vermont State Police and Homeland Security Investigations attempted to approach the pair for a voluntary interview, but they rebuffed law enforcement, “claiming that they were in the vicinity to look at purchasing property,” according to the court records.

Five days later, the pair were spotted in downtown Newport, Vermont, in “similar tactical dress” and carrying a handgun, which is permitted in Vermont, the affidavit said.

On Monday, the day of the fatal shooting, the two were being observed by law enforcement in the parking lot of a Walmart nearby, prosecutors said. Investigators observed Baukholt come out of the store with rolls of aluminum foil that he then used to wrap cellphones, they said.

The stop was initiated by Border Patrol agents under the pretext of an immigration violation, according to the court records.

Between 3 p.m. and 3:15 p.m. agents reported gunshots from the scene, according to the affidavit.

Agents described to their supervisor “that both Baukholt and Youngblut possessed firearms and that Youngblut drew and fired a handgun toward at least one of the uniformed Border Patrol agents without warning when outside the driver’s side of the Prius. Baukholt then attempted to draw a firearm. At least one Border Patrol agent fired at Youngblut and Baukholt with his service weapon,” according to the affidavit.

Upon searching the vehicle, agents found a cache of weapons and tactical gear, as well as the cellphones wrapped in foil.

The agents have not been interviewed according to the complaint, officials said.

“Agent Maland bravely served his country as a member of the U.S. Air Force,” said Special Agent in Charge Craig Tremaroli of the FBI Albany Field Office in a statement. “He continued that service when he answered the call to protect and serve as a law enforcement officer, making him a shining example of service over self. This arrest proves the FBI, together with our partners, will work diligently to ensure any individual who uses a firearm to assault such a public servant will be brought to justice.”

ABC News’ Alex Faul contributed to this report.

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US transfers Guantanamo detainee to Tunisia
US transfers Guantanamo detainee to Tunisia
Sylvie Lanteaume via Getty Images

(GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA) — The U.S. Department of Defense on Monday announced that Guantanamo Bay detainee Ridah Bin Saleh al-Yazidi had been repatriated to Tunisia, a transfer that leaves 26 detainees at the U.S. facility in Cuba.

Yazidi arrived at Guantanamo Bay the day it opened on Jan. 11, 2002, and was never charged. He was handed over to the Tunisian government, the Pentagon said in a press release on Monday.

“On Jan. 31, 2024, Secretary of Defense (Lloyd) Austin notified Congress of his intent to support this repatriation and, in consultation with our partner in Tunisia, we completed the requirements for responsible transfer,” the press release said.

The transfer came days after the Pentagon announced the repatriations of three other detainees, as the Biden administration pushes to reduce the number of people held at the notorious facility.

The Pentagon said in a press release earlier this month that Mohammed Farik bin Amin and Mohammed Nazir bin Lep, who are both Malaysians, were sent to their home country to serve the remainder of a 5-year sentence imposed in June. Officials had also announced the transfer of Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu to Kenya.

Fourteen of the remaining 26 detainees are eligible for transfer, according to the Pentagon. Another three are eligible for periodic review.

“The United States appreciates the support to ongoing U.S. efforts toward a deliberate and thorough process focused on responsibly reducing the detainee population and ultimately closing the Guantanamo Bay facility,” the Pentagon said in a statement announcing Bajabu’s repatriation earlier this month.

The cases of seven other detainees are ongoing under military commissions, the tribunal process under which detainees are tried. Two detainees have been convicted and sentenced by those commissions.

ABC News’ Luis Martinez contributed to this report.

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Six killed after car crashes off elevated roadway, catches fire in Newark
Six killed after car crashes off elevated roadway, catches fire in Newark
Douglas Sacha/Getty Images/STOCK

(NEWARK, N.J.) — Six people who were traveling in a vehicle in Newark, New Jersey, were killed after the car crashed off an elevated roadway Friday night, the authorities said.

The incident took place around 10:47 p.m. at the intersection of Raymond Boulevard and Blanchard Street, where the vehicle was traveling on a southbound on-ramp, according to the Essex County Prosecutor’s office.

“While on the ramp, the vehicle somehow went off the roadway, became airborne, and struck a support column for the Pulaski Skyway before landing on the ground. Upon landing, the vehicle caught fire,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

The six people who were killed were not immediately identified.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

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