Skip navigation

GEO Group shareholder resolution, Geo Group, 2018

Download original document:
Brief thumbnail
This text is machine-read, and may contain errors. Check the original document to verify accuracy.
RESOLUTION
RESOLVED: That the stockholders of the Company (GEO Group) request that the
Board of Directors adopt the following policy, to be implemented no later than December
31, 2019:
1.
GEO Group shall adopt a policy of not accepting immigrant detainee children
(persons under the age of 18), who have been separated from their parent or parents by
any U.S. government entity, for housing at any facility owned or operated by the
Company.
2.
GEO Group shall adopt a policy of not accepting adult immigrant detainees
(persons over the age of 18), who have been separated from their child or children by
any U.S. government entity, for housing at any facility owned or operated by the
Company.
3.
If GEO Group houses at any of its facilities any immigrant detainee children or
adults described in sections 1 or 2 above at the time the policies set forth in sections 1 and
2 are implemented, the Company shall: a) immediately move to modify all such contracts
to comply with the above policies or, if such modification is not possible within a sixmonth period, seek to withdraw from or terminate such contracts as soon as possible,
including invoking any early termination options or clauses in such contracts, and b)
diligently work to make arrangements to safely house such immigrant detainees that do
not involve housing them at any of the Company’s facilities.
Supporting Statement
The controversial issue of separating immigrant detainee children from their parents in
the United States has made headlines across the country. 1 As of October 2018, news
reports indicated that hundreds of immigrant detainee children remain separated from
their parents, and the U.S. government “is considering a policy that could again separate
parents and their children at the U.S.-Mexico border.” 2
While GEO Group currently does not house immigrant detainee children who have been
separated from their parents, the Company may change its policy in the future.
The Company has had a controversial history with respect to housing immigrant
detainees. Of the five immigrant detention facilities with the highest number of sexual
abuse complaints, three are operated by GEO Group. 3 Immigrant detainees have staged
hunger strikes at GEO Group detention centers. 4 Of the 18 detainee deaths in ICE
1

www.npr.org/2018/06/19/621065383/what-we-know-family-separation-and-zero-tolerance-at-the-border
https://fox4kc.com/2018/10/14/thousands-of-children-still-separated-from-parents-at-the-border
3
www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/sexual-assaults-immigration-detention-centers-don-t-get-investigatedsays-n745616; www.cnn.com/2014/10/03/justice/texas-immigrant-detention-allegations/index.html
4
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-08-02/immigrants-in-texas-detention-center-said-to-mounthunger-strike
2

custody in FY 2016 and 2017, nine occurred at GEO-run facilities. 5 The Company is
currently facing lawsuits for using immigrant detainees to perform work for wages as
low as $1.00 per day. 6
These incidents pose risks to GEO Group’s reputation and raise liability concerns. Should
the Company decide in the future to house immigrant children or parents who have been
separated, that also would create reputational harm.
Accordingly, this resolution requires GEO Group to enact policies that prohibit it from
housing immigrant detainee children or parents who have been separated, in order to
reduce reputational and liability risks to the Company and to protect shareholder value.

5

www.thedailybeast.com/immigrant-deaths-in-private-prisons-explode-under-trump
www.prisonlegalnews.org/news/2018/jun/7/lawsuits-filed-against-geo-group-wage-violations-detentionfacilities; https://shadowproof.com/2018/08/06/judge-certifies-class-action-lawsuit-geo-groups-forcedimmigrant-labor-washington

6