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14 Jan 2019

USA: Investors file resolutions with companies at risk for human rights violations due to govt. contracts related to immigration

In December 2018, investor members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility launched a corporate campaign focused on a group of six companies across the private prison, e-commerce, banking and defense sectors, deemed at risk for human rights violations as a result of government contracts that support President Trump’s “zero-tolerance” immigration policies. Investors have filed shareholder resolutions at the following companies:

Private Prisons

  • CoreCivic (allegations of forced labor and failure to provide medical assistance to detainees)
  • GEO Group (issues relating to safety, detainee rights, and medical care)
  • We invited CoreCivic to respond; response provided
  • We invited GEO Group to respond; it did not
  • We previously invited CoreCivic and GEO Group to respond to allegations that they were profiting from the detention of immigrant and asylum-seeking families and the separation of families at the US-Mexico border. More information and responses from both companies are available here.

Technology

  • Amazon (sale of facial recognition technology to government agencies including ICE and state law enforcement) 
  • We invited Amazon to respond; response provided. More information about allegations related to its facial recognition technology is available here.

Financial Services

  • SunTrust (funding for MVM, Inc. and Comprehensive Health Services, which are directly contracted with U.S. government agencies carrying out the “zero tolerance” immigration policy)
  • Wells Fargo (providing revolving credit and term loans to GEO; letters of credit on CoreCivic’s behalf; and underwriting bonds for both GEO and CoreCivic) 
  • We invited SunTrust to respond; it did not
  • We invited Wells Fargo to respond; response provided (Update: In March 2019, Wells Fargo announced that it would end its relationship with GEO Group and CoreCivic.)
  • We previously invited SunTrust and Wells Fargo to respond to allegations that bank and investor financing for CoreCivic & GEO Group supports these two companies to profit from the Trump Administration's harsh immigration policies. Wells Fargo responded, SunTrust declined to respond. More information is available here.
  • We previously invited MVM, Inc. and Comprehensive Heath Services to respond to allegations of profiting from the detention of immigrant and asylum-seeking families. Both companies responses. More information is available here.

Defense Contractor

  • Northrop Grumman (racial bias, privacy and surveillance via Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology (HART) database developed for the Department of Homeland Security)
  • We invited Northrop Grumman to respond; response provided

Company Responses

CoreCivic View Response
Northrop Grumman View Response
GEO Group

No Response

SunTrust Banks

No Response

Timeline