Lawmakers warn firms: Don’t work on the wall

Los Angeles, March 22: Three California lawmakers have introduced legislation that would penalize firms keen to take part in President Donald Trump’s plan to build a wall along the US-Mexico border.

The legislation announced Monday calls for California’s two public pension funds, the largest in the nation, to divest from companies involved in the construction of the controversial barrier.

“Californians build bridges not walls,” Phil Ting, one of the three Democratic lawmakers, said in a statement.

“This is a wall of shame and we don’t want any part of it. Immigrant stories are the history of America, and this is a nightmare.” Assembly Bill 946 was submitted after the US Customs and Border Protection last week requested design proposals for the wall set to be about 2,000 miles long.

If approved, it would require the California Public Employee Retirement System and the California State Teachers Retirement System — with investments of $312 billion and $202 billion, respectively — to liquidate within a year any investments in companies involved in building the wall.

“The state’s contracting and investment practices should reflect the values of our state,” state representative Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, who co-authored the bill, said. — AFP