Prison operators are striking deals with municipalities to replace expiring federal contracts, cushioning the financial blow from the Biden administration’s efforts to disentangle the U.S. government from privately run detention facilities.
Days after President Joe Biden was inaugurated, he ordered the Justice Department not to renew any expiring contracts with privately operated jails and prisons, while honoring existing agreements. Investors sold off the stocks and bonds of contractors including CoreCivic Inc. and GEO Group Inc. in response, concerned about a pullback in federal support for private prisons.