ICE chief divests detention giant stocks, recuses himself from contracts: Warren

Senate ICE chief divests detention giant stocks, recuses himself from contracts: Warren Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 08/03/26 4:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 08/03/26 4:57 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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David Venturella, the acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), sent a letter to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) saying he has divested of his Geo Group stocks and “fully recused himself from all contracts and obligations related to detention.”

The letter to Warren, sent Thursday, did not share specifics about ICE’s contracting process. Venturella added that he has “complied with all ethics requirements” and fully disclosed his employment with Geo Group before he was hired to work with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“In the circumstance where contracts may be awarded, this process will be done so in alignment with all relevant federal laws and regulations, while also considering vendors who are best suited for delivery of performance requirements,” he wrote regarding his assurance that he will recuse himself from matters that would benefit Geo Group.

Venturella replaced Todd Lyons, who served as ICE’s acting director until May. Venturella served as his top adviser since 2025, but he previously worked at Geo Group, one of the country’s largest private prison operators, from 2012 to 2023.

Geo Group agreed to house thousands of detained migrants in facilities in New Jersey, Michigan and Georgia that were not previously in use, along with reopening an ICE facility in California, The Wall Street Journal reported. These reopened prisons are under contracts the Trump administration signed last year.

Geo Group has had among the best-performing stocks in 2026, with shares up 82 percent, the Journal reported in June.

Warren replied to Venturella on Sunday, accusing him of leaving “key loopholes” in his recusals.

“Transparency into the agency’s decisions –– and its ties to Geo Group –– is more important than ever, yet your refusal to fully answer all questions about this matter –– in addition to the gaps in your recusal commitments –– only add to the cloud of corruption surrounding ICE and this administration’s immigration agenda,” she wrote in her letter.

Warren requested more information and asked whether Venturella holds stocks in other private prison companies, including CoreCivic.

Among CoreCivic’s prisons used by ICE is the California City Immigration Processing Center, the largest detention center in the Golden State. A court-appointed monitor last week found that the detention center violated a court order to provide adequate medical care to detained migrants and neglected their medical needs.

A CoreCivic spokesperson told The Hill last week that while the company does not “generally comment on matters involving active litigation,” it is reviewing the report into the facility.

President Trump in June nominated Lance Schroyer to be ICE’s permanent director. No confirmation hearing has been scheduled.

The Senate has not confirmed a director to lead ICE since 2017.

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