Union representing education workers statewide opposes N.J.’s public pensions having investments in Palantir, a partner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Fords: AFT New Jersey’s Delegate Assembly on Oct. 26 passed a resolution urging the State of New Jersey to divest its holdings in Palantir Technologies.

New Jersey’s public pension funds have significant investments in Palantir, the Denver-based software company that has become the technical backbone of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s mass deportation operation.

“The retirement security of our members depends on prudent management of our public pension funds, with fiduciary duty requiring that all investment decisions be made solely in the best financial interest of beneficiaries,” AFTNJ President Jennifer S. Higgins said, quoting the resolution. “Public pensions are a promise the state, municipalities and school districts make to the people who run our schools, universities and community colleges.”

The AFTNJ resolution follows one passed in July by the national American Federation of Teachers in which it stated its solidarity with immigrant families and called on elected leaders nationwide to ban ICE from schools and communities.

Across the Garden State, the State Investment Council of New Jersey has already divested its stake in the GEO Group. The for-profit prison corporation is the operator of Newark’s Delaney Hall, which has served as an ICE detention center under the second Trump administration since May 2025. The State Investment Council’s action prompted the New Jersey Department of the Treasury to describe the decision as a response to financial concerns that changed the company’s investment-risk profile. As part of its resolution, AFT New Jersey urges the state’s public pension system and its governing bodies to undertake a fiduciary review of current and prospective investments with Palantir, and reaffirm that pension fund investments align with fiduciary obligations that prioritize beneficiaries’ long-term financial security.