A state lawmaker from Queens announced plans Thursday to file legislation aimed at cutting ties between the New York pension fund and companies that stand to profit financially from President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.
Assemb. Francisco Moya (D-Queens), speaking at a rally in midtown Manhattan with dozens of immigration and affordable housing activists, said he would soon introduce a bill to require the state to divest its more than $178 billion pension fund from corporations that back Trump’s agenda — including banks that finance immigration detention centers, and contractors involved with the proposed U.S.-Mexico border wall.
“If New York is truly to stand in resistance to the Trump agenda, it’s time to put its money where its mouth is,” Moya said at a rally held outside the JPMorgan Chase Tower on Park Avenue. “ . . . These companies won’t be swayed by the moral argument. . . . They’ll be listening when it comes to the almighty dollar.”
Moya was joined by Assemb. Nily Rozic (D-Queens) and Sen. Gustavo Rivera (D-Bronx), who all denounced Trump’s agenda as anti-immigrant and divisive at the rally organized by the immigrant advocacy group Make the Road New York.
The group has launched a campaign with the liberal-leaning Center for Popular Democracy dubbed “Corporate Backers of Hate,” which seeks to mobilize protests and boycotts against nine corporations they say stand to profit from Trump’s agenda. The companies include JPMorgan Chase, Boeing, Disney and IBM, whose chief executives serve on Trump’s Business Advisory Council.
“Our country’s largest corporations are continuing to stand by the president and position themselves to profit from our community,” said Javier Valdes, executive director of Make the Road New York. “The moment has come where they have to choose a side. No longer can they continue to market to our communities, say they are for diversity, say they appreciate the . . . immigrant community, but then continue to support investing in things that tear immigrant communities apart.”
A JPMorgan Chase spokesman, reached by email, declined to comment on the protest.
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