Immigration detention center bond prices have mostly fallen from their post-election highs, as one, the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, according to Electronic Municipal Market Access (EMMA) data.

While all bonds that traded remain above their prices prior to the election of President Donald Trump (R) on 5 November 2024, eight of ten hit their high more than two months prior to the most recent trade, and seven of the ten that traded in 2026 are trading below 80, indicating the president’s hardline approach on immigration hasn’t been enough to fully reassure bondholders of the security of their debt.

Ten bonds backed by payments from five detention centers that accept immigrant detainees traded in 2026 (See Table 1). Prices are up between 2.1 percentage points (pp) and 40.5pp since the November 2024 election.

Table 1: Immigrant detention center bond trading (alphabetical by obligor)Of the eight bonds that hit their high more than two months before the most recent trade, prices have fallen between 1.4pp and 18.1pp. (See Table 2).

Table 2: Changes in immigrant detention bond trading (by price change since high)

The number of detained immigrants increased 76.2% to 65,765 this month from 37,323 in January 2025, when Trump was inaugurated, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement data. The Trump administration has used existing facilities, reopened detention facilities, including Georgia’s Irwin Detention Center, and started building new facilities in order to absorb the increase in immigrant detainees.

But not all facilities are doing well. Central Falls Detention Center, which runs the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on 10 July. The facility hasn’t traded since 6 November 2024.

Methodology

Debtwire Municipals put the words detention, correctional, corrections, jail into EMMA’s advanced search issuer name and issue description to find penal system debt. We cross checked the results against the ICE database of detention facilities. A facility may house both immigrants and criminals or those awaiting trial. Although the facilities are approved to hold immigrants, they do not necessarily hold them.

We excluded Kentucky’s Oldham County Detention Center, which had a small amount of bond debt outstanding because it was general obligation, rather than revenue debt. We took out bonds that had no trading in 2026, those with maturities before 1 January 2027, and those with 0% coupons. Ohio’s Clark County Jail sold bonds on 15 July but did not have any trade information and would not have had sufficient trade history.

The immigration detention facilities we identified with bonds that traded over the period were Arizona’s San Luis Regional Detention Center, California’s Imperial Regional Detention Facility, Florida’s Glades County Detention Center, New Mexico’s Otero County Processing Center, and Texas’ Prairieland Detention Facility.

Debtwire Municipals’ Eye on Data reports consist of numerical information and related commentary that together illustrate and explain critical issues facing the US municipal bond market. Eye on Data reports are also frequently used to capture salient credit characteristics of an upcoming bond issue.