ICE Tracks 54,000 Immigrants With Ankle Monitors as Geo Group Revenue Rises
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 6
ICE Tracks 54,000 Immigrants With Ankle Monitors as Geo Group Revenue Rises
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 6
Summary
Nearly 54,000 immigrants are now under ICE GPS ankle-monitor tracking, up from 17,000 early last year, while total enrollment in the agency’s supervision program held roughly flat at 184,000.
Geo Group said the increase came after ICE shifted many participants from cheaper tools such as phone check-ins and SmartLink, which costs about $0.96 a day versus a little over $2 for each ankle monitor.
A June 2025 ICE memo obtained by the Washington Post directed agents to move more immigrants into the ankle-monitor program, a change Geo executives said is lifting ISAP revenue even without overall caseload growth.
A class-action lawsuit filed in June alleges an "ankle monitors for all" policy imposes real-time GPS surveillance without individualized justification, including on pregnant women, while advocates say the program lacks meaningful review.
Geo had already invested $16 million in 2025 to expand monitor supply, betting ISAP could eventually grow beyond its previous 370,000 peak as Trump-era immigration policies widen the pool subject to enforcement.