CalPERS Ends Business Partnership with Two Companies Supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Operations

CalPERS Ends Business Partnership with Two Companies Supporting Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention Operations

According to the announcement of the California Faculty Association during their Friday conference with the California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS), the biggest pension fund for the citizens of the United States of America is ending their ties with two for-profit prison organizations handling migrant detention operations for the US government.

This decision of CalPERS to end business ties with GEO Group and CoreCivic was based on the latest trends occurring among pension funds and businesses. Businesses had been withdrawing their financial ties from GEO Group and CoreCivic. GEO Group and CoreCivic are publicly traded businesses that handle most of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention operation

Businesses from the financial industry such as Wells Fargo and Bank of America had also ended their partnership with private detention companies that operate federal detention facilities for those who are imprisoned through the US justice system and immigration prison facilities operating under various contracts with ICE.

The public employees of California had protested and expressed their concerns to the community. They had protested that their retirement savings were being mobilized by these companies to contribute to immigrant abuse, mass imprisonment, and school-to-prison campaigns.

According to Megan White, a representative of CalPERS, CalPERS to end business ties with GEO Group and CoreCivic by selling its holdings in these two businesses as a form of investment decision and not due to the influence of activists.

According to White, their CEO had made the decision based on a thorough review of investing opportunities and strategies which included activities such as evaluating benchmarks and investment analysis. The main goal of the decision was to maximize the adding of value to the pension fund of its members. This is in line with the seven percent investment goal of CalPERS.

According to Emily Claire Goldman, the founder, and director of the ESG Transparency Initiative, one of the ways for CalPERS to end business ties with GEO Group and CoreCivic is by divesting $10.8 million worth of holdings from these two companies. The act of CalPERS will not gravely affect the financial condition of the two multi-billion companies but she stands with the opinion that the event may send a negative message to the other investors of CalPERS.

After a conference with CalPERS, the California Faculty Association had expressed their support on the decision of CalPERS to release their investment on CoreCivic and GEO Group because they do not agree with the morality of the operations being administered by the two companies.

According to a spokesperson of CoreCivic, detention facility operations for immigrants had had a negative image for a long time. She also added to her statement that CoreCivic operates in a limited manner but she admits that the company significantly contributes to the detention facility operations.

According to the spokesperson of GEO Group, they are a victim of false information and misunderstanding. They claim that their big role as a service provider to the US government is being overshadowed by false representations.

CalPERS is just one of the other companies that handle pension funds that had disassociated with GEO Group and CoreCivic because of its support to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention operations.