The midterm results are barely a week old, and one of the country’s biggest private prison companies is already telling the Trump administration to hurry.
During a call with investors on Thursday, CoreCivic chief executive Lucibeth Mayberry was asked whether the election results would affect future sales of privately run detention facilities to the Department of Homeland Security. Her answer, as reported by the Los Angeles Times: “We would urge the ICE administration to move quickly,” adding that “there’s no reason to wait.”
Asked whether the results would change ICE activity, Mayberry said she did not expect any immediate change, noting that ICE has already ramped up enforcement and expanded the number of people it holds in detention, currently around 69,000.
Why the rush?
Democrats won majorities in both the House and the Senate on November 3, and they take control in January. Immigration was one of the defining issues of the election, after affordability and the Iran war, and Democrats have made clear that the Department of Homeland Security will be one of their top oversight targets.
On election night, House Homeland Security Committee Democrats posted a three-word message to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin: “clear your calendar.” The next day, Mullin answered with three words of his own: “Deportations will continue.”
Democrats line up investigations
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, who is poised to lead the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said DHS and abuses by immigration agents will be a major focus. He named former Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and her adviser Corey Lewandowski, saying they would face accountability.
“When people are being kidnapped and detained, thrown to the ground, arms broken, people snatched up on their way to immigration appointments that we the government gave them, that’s inhumane, it’s wrong, and I think the American public, regardless of party, are sick of it,” Garcia said.
Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the top Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, sent Mullin a letter demanding that the department preserve all documents, including emails and contracts. Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said he has written DHS leaders more than a dozen times without receiving records, and warned that failure to produce them by January 4, 2027, would leave his subcommittee “no choice but to consider alternative measures to obtain compliance.” Blumenthal said the inquiry will also look at alleged corruption, including airplanes reportedly bought at inflated prices from a political donor to Noem.
Republicans are bracing too. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told GOP committee chairs to identify likely targets of Democratic scrutiny and to “maximize our remaining days in power to prepare for what is coming.”
What voters said they want
A poll of more than 10,000 midterm voters by the Los Angeles-based firm BSP Research found majority support for a path to citizenship for longtime immigrants, banning immigration agents from wearing masks, requiring body cameras and limiting the use of force. Most respondents also backed redirecting billions of dollars Congress set aside for immigration enforcement to other programs.
Meanwhile, President Trump has picked Stephen Miller, the architect of many of the administration’s hardest-line immigration policies, as his new White House chief of staff. Sen. Alex Padilla of California said the move shows Trump is “choosing to double down.”
Democrats can investigate starting in January, but changing policy will be harder: major legislation would still need Republican votes and Trump’s signature. Experts say the budget process is likely their strongest tool. Until then, the companies that profit from detention are making their position clear: there’s no reason to wait.