Bank supports for-profit prison
Are you aware that Citizens Bank is a primary financier for the two largest for-profit prison companies in the USA, GEO Group and CoreCivic? Did you know that these corporations use their profits for lobbying efforts to influence government immigration policy? They have been richly rewarded. Over half of the rapidly growing number of ICE detainees are held in facilities run by these companies where conditions are notoriously overcrowded and unsanitary, disease is rampant, and medical care is often denied.
While eight other major banks ended their relationships with these companies in 2019, Citizens Bank continues its support. It is time to tell Citizens Bank to end their ties with immigrant detention centers and live up to their motto of “fostering strong communities.”
If you have an account at Citizens Bank, in the name of compassionate justice we encourage you to move your personal funds to another bank. Let the bank manager know why you are moving your money. Alternatively, for even greater leverage, join the “Not with our money, Citizens” campaign https://www.de-icecitizensbank.org/take-action by pledging to withdraw your assets if Citizens Bank does not end its support of private prison companies. If you are part of an organization that banks with Citizens, encourage that organization to follow your example.
Corporate greed and government policy feed a cycle of human rights abuses. But corporations require financing. Let’s break the chain using our money and our voices.