Geo Group v. Inslee

Washington's SB 5432 directly conflicts with the federal government's statutory authority to conduct immigration detention by prohibiting the use of private contractors as the mechanism through which ICE operates detention facilities. Under Supremacy Clause doctrine, a state cannot bar the federal government from using lawful contractual methods to fulfill federally authorized duties, and a blanket prohibition on private detention presents an impermissible obstacle to federal immigration enforcement regardless of whether applied facially to both state and federal operations. The central question is whether the state's regulation constitutes unconstitutional interference with federal prerogatives or a valid exercise of state sovereignty over detention practices and contractor licensing within its borders—specifically, whether states may condition federal government access to detention services on requiring direct state operation rather than private intermediaries.