Hello Friends —

Like so many others, we at Figure 8 have watched in horror as U.S. immigration enforcement has ratcheted up, often in violation of habeas corpus and without a presumption of innocence.

With ICE agents infiltrating communities and people being warehoused, detained, and sometimes disappeared all without due process, immigration enforcement has gone far beyond what we’d imagined could happen in this country. The recent Supreme Court rulings limiting the rights of asylum seekers and obliterating TPS offends our sensibilities; the expanded ICE funding that Congress authorized in June leaves us shaking our heads. Who are we and what has this country become??

And what is the role of business? We at Figure 8 have long contended that there should be no profit motive in detaining and imprisoning people. We’ve long fought the very existence of the two publicly-traded private prison companies, Geo Group and CoreCivic. Figure 8 was part of successful efforts to stem detention-related bank financing a decade ago — dealing a severe but not quite fatal blow to the private prison operators. Instead, those companies persisted — and today are thriving as the federal government expands the immigration enforcement complex with unprecedented speed. Now, companies across the economy are joining them to participate in — and profit from — the fast-moving world of immigrant detention and deportation.

What are concerned investors to do? The first thing is simply to KNOW: which companies are benefiting from immigration enforcement, what’s in motion, who is accountable, where there are points of leverage to stop it, how can we resist? This newsletter is a start to that conversation.

Perhaps most powerfully, investors can recognize and assert that today’s extreme definition of immigration enforcement is simply bad for business. We write more about this below.

We can confidently assert that Figure 8 doesn’t knowingly buy stock in any of the companies listed in the sections that follow. But there may very well be exposures we’ve yet to learn about and opportunities for voice and resistance that we’ve yet to tap. We hold ourselves accountable, too. These times demand it.

With determination and hope,

Lisa & The Figure 8 Team

Immigration Enforcement Under Trump 2.0: Bad for Business

The list above shows ways of tapping the capital system to enable and expand unjust immigration enforcement. But there are also ways concerned investors can use their capital and their voice to resist. Investors can divest their dollars from companies involved with DHS and ICE. Investors can advocate for changes in corporate policies, as well as with index providers and asset managers — and they can vote their proxies to support shareholder resolutions, select board members, and demand accountability.

Perhaps most powerfully, investors can recognize and assert that today’s extreme definition of immigration enforcement is simply bad for business. It diminishes the labor force and robs our economy of talent, heightens operational and reputational risk for any company connected to the detention and deportation system, and damages local economic activity across targeted communities.

In May, Wharton professor Exequiel Hernandez published a study “ICE-ing the Economy: Immigration Enforcement Under Trump 2.0 and Local Economic Activity” documenting the damaging economic impact ICE raids have had on local economic activity in cities across the country. The study, arguably the first to offer systematic, national-level estimates of the consequences of the Trump 2.0 immigration enforcement regime, looked at the economic impact of 5,388 geocoded ICE raids on a broad range of local economies. The study found reduced foot traffic and lower levels of spending across diverse communities and businesses, with the breadth of local economic damage mirroring the breadth of the enforcement approach. The study’s conclusion:

“The pattern of quantitative results shows that, in its first year, the new regime produced significant and persistent negative economic spillovers for virtually all residents and types of businesses in targeted areas. These findings raise important issues for policy makers and for scholarship on immigration enforcement.”

Indeed.

Some Things We’re Reading & Watching

• Singer-songwriter Margo Price teamed up with Joan Baez and the band Memphis Mariachi to record this haunting modern-day video version of Woody Guthrie’s Deportee, to be featured on her upcoming album “Days of Unrest”.

• Rachel Cohen is a Chicago-based Harvard-educated attorney, community organizer, advocate for immigrants and the people of Gaza, and leader of a renewed war tax resistance movement. Read more about her here and here.

• Last summer, Morningstar published a piece examining the major private prison and detention stocks (CoreCivic and GeoGroup) and highlighting where those holdings often appear in client portfolios. We’ve shared this before; it’s perhaps more relevant now than ever. You can access it here.

You should always consult a financial, tax, or legal professional familiar with your unique circumstances before making any financial decisions. This material is intended for educational purposes only. Nothing in this material constitutes a solicitation for the sale or purchase of any securities.