What's Happening

By Mary Minette, Senior Director of Shareholder Advocacy, 
Mercy Investment Services

March 2, 2026, Washington, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a change in policy late in 2025 that is impacting shareholder proposals, a key tool used by the Portfolio Advisory Board (PAB) and other investors to engage with the companies we own. Most publicly traded companies hold their annual shareholder meetings in the spring, so each fall, shareholders consider whether it would be useful to file a non-binding proposal under SEC Rule 14a to encourage companies to engage in more focused dialogue on key issues, including climate change, human rights, and improvements in corporate governance.  

Under Rule 14a, if a company believes that the subject of a proposal is not appropriate or that they are already doing what the proposal requests, they must ask the SEC for permission to omit the proposal from the proxy ballot for their annual meeting. Under long-standing policy, the SEC will either allow them to do so or indicate that they are required to include the proposal on their proxy. 

This past fall, as investors were preparing to begin filing proposals for the 2026 proxy season, the SEC announced that it would not respond to most requests by companies this year to omit proposals from their proxy ballots, citing a lack of resources due to the extended government shutdown. Companies are still required to inform the SEC that they will not include a proposal, and to outline their reasons for doing so, but the SEC will not compel them to print a proposal in their proxy.

Many companies have chosen not to take advantage of this “free pass.” For example, Tyson Foods had already requested permission from the SEC to omit a proposal filed by the PAB requesting a report on how changes in immigration policies are impacting their workers when the SEC announced this change. The company elected to include the proposal on the proxy ballot for its annual meeting in February. 

However, some companies elected to omit proposals. GEO Group, a private prison company that owns and co-operates more than 20 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers, informed the SEC that it would omit a proposal filed by the PAB from its 2026 proxy. The proposal requested that the company hire a third party to determine whether they are complicit in violating international human rights law by providing transportation and security services to assist ICE deportations, such as their role accompanying detainees from GEO detention centers on flights to CECOT prison in El Salvador. The company also failed to respond to requests from investors for dialogue on this issue.

Recently, the SEC announced another policy change that will impact shareholder rights.  The SEC maintains a database called EDGAR where public companies file their required reports. Under SEC rules, any shareholder who holds more than $5 million in a company’s shares is required to file a Notice of Exempt Solicitation on EDGAR any time they wish to urge their fellow shareholders to vote their proxies in a specific way (against certain directors or for a specific shareholder proposal). Smaller shareholders were also permitted to use EDGAR to file a voluntary Notice of Exempt Solicitation to urge support for a proposal they filed or other proxy voting campaign. The SEC announced in January 2026 that they will no longer allow EDGAR to be used for voluntary filings, blocking use of a key communications tool by small shareholders.

Despite the challenges posed by these SEC policy changes, the PAB is continuing to file shareholder proposals and will find alternate ways to generate support for our proposals.

February 23, 2026, Detroit – “I think the most important thing we can do to keep peace is to be a witness.… We can’t let up. We have to be vigilant. We have to reach out in love, compassion, and mercy.” 

Those are the words of Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, who – with Sister Janet Stankowski, OP, and Adrian Dominican Associate Patricia “Patty” Gillis – recently attended a mid-January 2026 vigil outside the regional field office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in downtown Detroit. They – and many other Adrian Dominican Sisters and Associates – have been activists and advocates in various ways for immigrants and other people facing injustice. 

During a recent interview, they reflected on their experiences as witnesses and advocates for peace and the common good. As often as possible, they attend weekly protests in Detroit and have been involved through their ministries and in other ways.

Sister Janet is inspired by the people of Minneapolis, who have supported and tried to protect their immigrant neighbors and protest the presence and actions of ICE agents in their city. “I don’t know anything that shines as bright as that example for motivating me to come out [in protests] when something happens…. It should motivate us to say we don’t want our money [used to send] people into our neighborhoods to capture, instill fear, or break up families.” She added that Livonia, Michigan – the location of Madonna University, where she ministers – has been negotiating with the local police about how they will respond to ICE agents. 

Patty said she has attended nearly every protest in the area since the re-election of President Donald Trump. Among the many issues represented at these protests, Patty reflected on the way representatives of the federal government treat immigrants in the attempt to deport them. 

“What really bothers me is how all immigrants are described as criminals,” Patty said. “That’s othering them…. That’s the kind of language authoritarians use when they want to take over the country.” But, she added, people who know particular immigrants know that they are not criminals. “They know the man who washes the dishes or the person who’s working in the restaurant,” she said. “They’re not criminals.” 

Patty recalled an earlier protest, a procession from Holy Trinity Church to ICE headquarters in Detroit in July 2025. The procession was organized by Strangers No Longer (SNL), a network of predominantly Catholic parishes, schools, immigrant organizations, and other organizations in Michigan that work together to promote humane immigration policies. Members of SNL later had the opportunity to meet with representatives of ICE. 

Patty was especially pleased with the involvement of the new Archbishop of Detroit, Archbishop Edward J. Weisenburger, who spoke in support of the immigrant community. Archbishop Weisenburger later wrote an article on the current treatment of immigrants by the U.S. government; Jesus’ teaching that “whatever you do to the least among us, you do to me”; and the need for reasonable immigration reform. 

Sister Janet said that the Detroit area is fortunate that, six months after the arrival of Archbishop Weisenburger, he participated in a procession for immigrants. “It’s so different when you have that leadership – support that’s more than verbal,” she said.

Sister Mary Jane has direct contact with immigrants through her ministry at St. Frances Cabrini Clinic in Detroit, founded 75 years ago to serve uninsured adults, including immigrants. St. Frances Cabrini (1850-1917) was a Catholic Sister who came to the United States from Italy and ministered to immigrants, who were often treated unjustly. 

The clinic is “still going strong,” Sister Mary Jane said. “It’s a refuge. It’s a place of welcome.” Through her ministry at the clinic, she has met people from throughout the world. “We serve everyone,” she said. “The questions we ask are around insurance or income … not origin and not racial issues.”

Sister Mary Jane added that the clinic is being proactive in designing policies and procedures in the event that ICE agents come. “The goal is to protect people, ensure confidentiality, and comply with laws,” she said. 

Along with her ministry at the clinic, Sister Mary Jane values the opportunity to be a witness of her Christian values through rallies and processions. “The physical action for me makes a difference,” she said. “Certainly, I pray and sing, but when I put my body there, it’s a whole different reality – to be with people, to hear their story or stand in silence and pray.”

Patty added: “It’s a privilege to be out there. It gives people who really care hope that people are out there doing good things. To watch all this violence and negativity is disheartening.”

Sister Janet agreed. “We’ve got to keep the positive going. What we can do with our bodies, let’s do it.”
 

Caption for above feature photo: From left, Sister Janet Stankowski, OP, Associate Patricia Gillis, and Sister Mary Jane Lubinski, OP, attend a January 14, 2026, vigil in front of the field office of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regional field office in Detroit.