When immigration enforcement detains families and unaccompanied children seeking asylum at the border or long-term residents of our communities, they most likely send them to prisons and detention centers that are privately owned and operated. The number of these for-profit facilities has quadrupled in the past 10 years. As separations and detentions increase, so do the profits of private prison companies -- and their shareholders.
Divestment by foundations from the prison industrial complex is a key part of the fight against mass incarceration of communities of color and to reduce the political influence of private prison companies.
While an increasing number of foundations have made grants to prevent family separation within our immigration system, reduce the detentions of immigrants and asylum seekers, and prevent the trauma and abuse that occur in detention, many of these same funders are simultaneously invested in immigration private prisons and the prison industrial complex.
The webinar will explore how philanthropy can follow the recent divestment decisions by JPMorgan Chase & Co., the state of New York, the United Methodist Church, General Electric and others. The speakers will discuss how you can initiate divestment discussions at your foundation and positively engage investment committees, and how divestment is 1 of a spectrum of corporate accountability measures.
Speakers on the webinar include:
- Daniel Carrillo, Executive Director, Freedom to Thrive
- Lori Bezahler, President, Edward W. Hazen Foundation
- Morgan Simon, Founding Partner, Candide Group