With a number of states contemplating anti-immigration
legislation and the federal government cracking down on
undocumented workers, a coalition of institutional investors with
more than $145 billion under management is enlisting Corporate
America to help find better solutions.Recently, more than 60
institutional investors, including many leaders in the socially
responsible investing space, penned a letter to the CEOs of 150
major companies in the U.S. asking them to speak out in support of
comprehensive immigration reform policy. "The current policy is not
working for anyone ... We feel we need to open the door to a
sensible discussion in this country," Heidi Soumerai, director of
ESG Research for Walden Asset Management and the main contact for
the letter, tells
FA Green.
The coalition is hopeful that elected officials will put aside
partisan politics long enough to support comprehensive immigration
reform that's critical to advancing the U.S. economy and keeping
the country globally competitive. It would also like to see reform
include a pathway to legal status for undocumented immigrants. The
investors initially selected 100 of the largest companies and then
targeted additional ones in the agriculture, technology and leisure
industries because of their heavy reliance on immigrant workers,
says Soumerai. Roughly 8 million unauthorized immigrants made up
5.2% of the nation's total workforce in March 2010, estimates the
Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The
percentage is much higher in construction (14%), agriculture (13%),
and leisure and hospitality (10%), according to data cited in the
letter.The U.S.'s ability to attract highly skilled workers also
depends on comprehensive immigration policy, note the investors.
They point to a Duke University study which identified at least one
immigrant founder in one-quarter of all engineering and technology
companies created in the U.S. in the decade ending in 2005.
"There really is a business case for sound immigration
reform," says Susan Smith Makos, director of social responsibility
for Mercy Investment Services. But it's more than just business,
she and the other signatories agree. "This is the intersection of
economics and human rights," says Soumerai. Comprehensive reform
must value the integrity of families and prevent immigrant workers,
temporary and permanent, from being subjected to second-class
employment standards, the coalition told CEOs. Makos and Tim
Brennan, treasurer and chief financial officer of the Unitarian
Universalist Association, tell
FA Green
they're very concerned about the effect of current immigration
policies on families. Deportation practices are inconsistent and
insensitive, notes Makos.Standing on the Side of Love, a public
advocacy campaign sponsored by the UUA, urges the end of programs
that provide for local enforcement of federal immigration law as in
Arizona. These programs "tear families apart and contribute to
racial profiling, vigilantism, and fear of law enforcement that
threatens the safety of all our communities," says the campaign.
"The discussion has gotten so polarized. There's no discussion of
how detrimental current policies are to workers and the economy,"
says Brennan. By asking companies to get involved, "We're really
trying to take a positive approach."Brennan doesn't expect changes
to come overnight. "Frankly, I think the next two years will be
tough," he says, based on the positions various Congress members
have taken. Still, "we need to introduce better information into
the conversation now," he says.The coalition is encouraged by the
Partnership for a New American Economy
, a group of bipartisan mayors and business leaders founded last
year to raise awareness of the economic benefits of sensible
immigration reform. Co-chairs include the CEOs of Boeing, Marriot,
Microsoft, News Corp. and the Walt Disney Co. So can companies that
hire illegal immigrants still be considered socially responsible?
Soumerai doesn't know anyone making a judgment. "The issue is
complex. The big question is, 'Are (workers) being treated in a
fair manner?'" she says.The UUA doesn't have an official position
on whether or not it's OK to hire illegal immigrants, but such
practices are "evidence for the need of the kinds of policies we're
advocating," says Brennan. He'd like to see companies include
immigration policies in their social responsibility reports. The
coalition encourages companies to post support for immigration
reform on their company Web sites and in other corporate
publications.While immigration policy is not currently an
investment screen for the UUA, which manages approximately $300
million for about 1,000 congregations, Brennan says it's a
possibility down the road. One company which has earned praise for
its sustainability practices, Chipotle Mexican Grill (
CMG
), has suddenly found itself as the poster child for immigration
issues. The restaurant chain was recently forced to dismiss
hundreds of illegal workers in Minnesota following a U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement audit, and ICE is now
investigating its Virginia and Washington, D.C., locations. The
company says it's been working to improve its policies and
procedures for verifying documents.Although environmentally focused
investment management firm Winslow Management Company sold off
Chipotle, a long-term favorite, in late 2010 because it passed its
price expectation, "I'm hoping they do the right thing," says
Winslow founder and chief investment officer Jack Robinson.Employee
relations are very important to him. "To me, it's fairly
straightforward: we have laws in this country that we need to live
by or see change. Any company that's breaking the law, no matter
what the law is, is suspect. If a company breaks one law, is it
breaking others?" he says.Looking ahead, Robinson expects more
discussion and corporate transparency regarding hiring practices in
general. "Sustainability is not just about profits or the
environment. It also includes corporate social responsibility."
- Jerilyn Klein Bier
Financial Advisor magazine reaches 90,000 financial planners and
investment advisors through its print publication and its
Web site
. It also publishes
FA green
, for advisors interested in socially responsible investing, and
Private
Wealth
, for advisors targeting the ultra high-net-worth market.