A strategy to eliminate immigrant suffering caused by Wall Street backed multinational private prison companies
From Enlace’s Prison Divestment Campaign. For more information visit: http://enlaceintl.org/programs/prison-divestment/ Enlace has recruited and partnered with over 70 diverse local, state, and national organizations to launch the Prison Divestment Campaign to expose the immigrant enforcement profiteers in both the private sector and in government and thereby dismantling the lobbying efforts aimed at anti-immigrant laws and policies leading to the incarceration of millions of immigrants and people of color.
Wall Street Profits as Government Pays Private Prisons $ Billions to Terrorize Families to Address a False Problem
Wall Street-supported private prison companies are profiting from anti-immigrant laws and policies that are sweeping the country. Following on the heels of Arizona’s infamous SB1070, which required local law enforcement to question and detain anyone suspected of lacking proper documents, similarly harsh legislation has been introduced in most other states. Georgia’s new copycat law went into effect July 1st.
The proliferation of anti immigrant state laws and of federal efforts to compel state and local governments to incarcerate more immigrants is being fueled by lobbying efforts at state and federal levels of the Geo Group (GEO), Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), and some of their major shareholders.
The managements of both CCA and GEO, themselves, own relatively small amounts of stock in their own companies. Both CCA and GEO rely on ties with major investors, such as Wells Fargo and General Electric, to multiply the power of their lobbying efforts with appropriations committees in Congress and the Federal agencies that implement and enforce immigration laws.
Although the number of crimes committed in the U.S. has dropped by over 700,000 per year over the past 10 years federal and state prisons and detention facilities are filled beyond capacity. Nearly half of all new prisoners are immigrants. Annual immigrant detentions have increased by over 370,000. The Department of Homeland Security has classified 39.9% of its immigrant detainees this year as “Non-Criminals”. Today, with only 5% of the world’s population, the U.S. has 25% of the world’s prisoner.
CCA and GEO Abuse Immigrants and People of Color
There have been hundreds of reports of many kinds of abuse of people detained by CCA and GEO under various government contracts. So far courts have found CCA responsible for wrongful death, child abuse, violent assault, or sexual abuse, in 10 of its facilities; courts have found GEO responsible for wrongful death, child abuse, violent assault, or sexual abuse, in 8 of its facilities.
Corporations playing the system and winning
CCA and GEO are both active members of the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) along with other corporations and many politicians. ALEC has been responsible for Arizona’s SB1070 and also the various copycat laws around the country. But while it is currently playing the broken immigration system, making millions by separating families this is not the first time. ALEC, together with private prisons, was influential in various “tough on crime bills” and the “3 strikes bills” that were implemented in various states. CCA and GEO have made it a long tradition of “working” the broken immigration and criminal justice systems, they pass laws and policies that criminalize and incarcerate communities of color. Effectively they have been financing efforts to scapegoat immigrants and people of color as “criminals”, while pocketing billions in taxpayer money.
The Campaign So Far
We are calling on Wells Fargo, Wellington, Fidelity, Capital Group, General Electric, and other major GEO and CCA shareholders and government at all levels to withdraw support (financial holdings, support of prison expansion, etc) from these two corporations that profit from human suffering at taxpayer expense.
The campaign began with synchronized public demonstrations in five cities on May 12, 2011. These actions targeted major institutional investors in the private prison industry. Organizers in New York gathered outside the residence of Bill Ackman, the influential Wall Street hedge fund guru and head of Pershing Square Capital Management, a major CCA investor.
As a result of the May 12th action Pershing Square Capital Management divested $180+ million CCA holdings. CCA’s stock value dropped 10% the following day and remains categorized as a “bearish investment outlook” by investment management bloggers.
On July 1, 2011 our second national day of action targeted major prison industry investors in public demonstrations in fifteen cities in Solidarity with the community in Georgia. As a result of the actions Wells Fargo agreed to meet with organizers in August. Also the Capital Group, CCA’s second largest shareholder, began communication with the campaign the day before the July 1st action.
