NMERB Divestment of Private Prison Investments 

The Board of the UNM Retiree Association urges the NMERB to divest its holdings in private prison corporations on clearly humanitarian and possibly ethical grounds. We cannot condone the investment in private prison corporations that house undocumented immigrant families and children in detention centers and prison populations with significant racial disparities because of systemic racism. We are concerned that private prisons have been linked with quality and safety concerns resulting from a business model that reduces costs far below that of public prison facilities to generate a profit for shareholders. We note that several state pension systems and banks have divested their holdings in private prison corporations. As educators and former staff of educational institutions who have dedicated themselves to fostering a just and equal society, we believe that the NMERB should do the same. Therefore, the Board of the UNM Retiree Association recommends the divestment of NMERB pension funds from the GEO Group and that NMERB develop an investment planning process to address responsible social investing to guide investment decisions in the future. 

September 10, 2020 

/S/

Kevin J. Malloy and Dubra Karnes-Padilla