An investigation by ProPublica reveals how a company began as a logistics service provider for music festivals and became a centerpiece of immigrant detention infrastructure in the United States. In 2005, an informal meeting between the founders of the company Deployed Resources and a former employee of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) marked the beginning of their connection with the federal government. Over the years, Deployed has adapted to changes in immigration policies, benefiting especially during Donald Trump's administrations, when it received billion-dollar contracts to set up and operate temporary facilities at the border, according to the publication.

As deportation policies intensified in Trump's second term, the company began to direct its services not only to house newly arrived immigrants, but also to detain people who are about to be deported. This move involves adapting their temporary tents for long-term use by detained migrants, which raises concerns about safety, living conditions and respect for human rights in these makeshift structures. Former employees and experts warn that this new role requires a level of sophistication that goes beyond what tents can offer, and highlight the high cost involved in operating.

In addition, the text reveals Deployed's strategies to remain relevant and profitable in the sector, such as hiring former high-ranking officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which strengthened its ties with the government and helped secure new contracts. Despite criticism from watchdogs about the waste of public funds and allegations of mismanagement in shelters, the company has continued to win ever-larger contracts, including a recent one worth up to $3.8 billion to operate a military detention camp at Fort Bliss in Texas.

The publication also points to the role of other private companies in the prison sector, such as GEO Group and CoreCivic, which see Trump's immigration policies as an opportunity for expansion. Despite different approaches to political lobbying, they all share a strategy of incorporating former public officials to gain influence.

Current U.S. immigration policy has driven the creation of a veritable detention industry, in which private companies such as Deployed Resources profit from the increasing criminalization of immigration, often at the expense of migrants' rights and dignity.