Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of DHS, now uses private prison groups like Corrections Corporation of America to run some of its detention facilities for migrants.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson announced on Monday that he directed his advisory council to evaluate whether the agency should continue to contract with private prison companies.

"I asked that the Subcommittee consider all factors concerning ICE's detention policy and practice, including fiscal considerations", Johnson said, referring to DHS's Immigration and Customs Enforcement branch.

Johnson said his department's advisory council has been tasked to examine whether "immigration detention operations conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) should move in the same direction" as the justice department. In 2014, both companies were also awarded contracts to house mother and child asylum seekers; the deals are unusual because the firms receive fixed payments no matter how many beds are occupied.

The Justice Department announced earlier this month that the Federal Bureau of Prisons will phase out the use of privately-operated prisons with the goal of ultimately ending contracts for them.

Federal actions won't affect contracts with individual USA states, and larger state-level contracts are "arguably more important" for the private prison operators, Daniel Hanson, an analyst at Height Securities, wrote in a report when the Justice Department decision was announced.

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The GEO Group runs a similar facility in Karnes City, Texas and has earned $1.18 billion from contracts with ICE since 2008, about 35 percent of its total revenue from government contracts, according SmartProcure data. Nine of the ten largest detention centers are private, operated either by the Corrections Corporation of America or the GEO Group.

A Reuters survey of 10 states with the largest contracts with private prison companies, including California and Texas, showed none had immediate plans to drop their contracts.

GEO said it welcomed the announcement.

Shares of GEO (GEO) were slumping 5.2% to $20.77 in mid-afternoon trading on Monday as the Department of Homeland Security is reviewing the use of private prison companies.

"This effort builds on the unfettered, daily, onsite access ICE officials have to our facilities and the thousands of government audits we're subject to each year", he added. Grijalva warned that anything short of ending the use of private detention centers would make the DHS complicit in any abuses that occur. "Secretary Johnson is right to look at this important issue and we look forward to the committee's recommendation, which we hope will mirror the Department of Justice's decision to abandon private prisons".