Two prominent Democratic-aligned organizations dedicated to electing Democrats accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in donations from a private prison company that contracts extensively with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to a report published Saturday by POLITICO.
Campaign finance records reviewed by POLITICO show that the Democratic Governors Association and the Democratic Lieutenant Governors Association together received a six-figure sum from CoreCivic, a Tennessee-based private prison company and longtime ICE contractor. Both organizations acknowledged receiving the money, but their responses diverged sharply. The DGA chose to keep the funds, while the DLGA announced it would donate the contributions to a pro-immigration advocacy group.
The disclosure comes as many elected Democrats have intensified their public criticism of ICE and federal immigration enforcement in recent weeks. That rhetoric has escalated in the aftermath of the fatal January shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal immigration enforcement officers in Minneapolis, events that have fueled renewed attacks on ICE from Democratic officials nationwide.
According to POLITICO, a Nov. 9, 2023 email from a DLGA staffer to CoreCivic explicitly requested a $50,000 donation from the ICE contractor for the 2024 election cycle. Neither the DGA nor the DLGA immediately responded to requests for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.
DLGA spokesperson Christina Freundlich told POLITICO that the organization would donate any CoreCivic contributions from the 2024–2025 cycle to the National Immigration Law Center, which advocates for low-income immigrants. Freundlich also said the DLGA would no longer accept donations from CoreCivic going forward.
The DGA, however, defended its decision to keep the funds. A spokesperson told POLITICO that the organization “strongly condemn[s] the Trump administration’s appalling immigration tactics,” arguing that electing more Democrats is the only way to stop them. The spokesperson added that contributions to the DGA help elect Democratic governors and have no impact on policy decisions made by those governors.
A spokesperson for Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, who serves as DGA chair and has been mentioned as a possible future presidential contender, referred POLITICO to the same statement. Beshear has been outspoken in his criticism of federal immigration enforcement following the deaths of Good and Pretti, accusing officers of aggressive tactics and constitutional violations in comments to CNN and other outlets.
Spokespersons for Beshear and for DLGA Chair Kyle Evans Gay, Delaware’s lieutenant governor, did not respond to DCNF requests for comment.
CoreCivic has historically donated to candidates in both parties, though campaign finance data show it gave significantly more to Republicans than Democrats in 2024. According to OpenSecrets, the company’s only donation to a Democratic candidate that year was $2,500 to Georgia Rep. Sanford Bishop, while it contributed a combined $62,000 to Republican congressional candidates. Those records do not include donations to state-level groups such as the DGA and DLGA.
On its website, CoreCivic says it partners with ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service to provide temporary detention facilities while individuals go through legal proceedings, emphasizing that it does not enforce immigration laws or make deportation decisions. In September 2025, the company announced new ICE contracts covering nearly 3,600 beds at two facilities, with expected annual revenue approaching $200 million.
CoreCivic spokesman Ryan Gustin said the company engages politically across the spectrum to educate policymakers on what it calls partnership corrections solutions to national challenges.
The episode highlights an apparent contradiction between Democratic rhetoric attacking ICE and the acceptance of substantial funding from one of its largest contractors, raising fresh questions about consistency and accountability within the party’s immigration stance.
