Citizens Bank Cuts Ties to ICE Prison Companies GEO Group & CoreCivic After Grassroots Campaign

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A coalition of social justice organizations is celebrating a recent decision by Citizens Bank to divest from private prison companies that operate immigration jails for the federal government. The financial institution has faced significant pressure from protesters for providing more than $2.5 billion in financing to CoreCivic and the GEO Group, which work directly with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. While the bank denied that activist pressure affected its decision, the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition counted it as a victory.

“It was absolutely thanks to the incredible work of the activists,” says Jake Ephros, a Democratic Socialist member of Jersey City Council, who helped push the municipality to pull over $200 million in city funds from the bank.

We also speak with Rev. John Edgerton, senior minister of Old South Church in Boston and a board member of the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization. He credits “a broad movement” with the victory. “The pressure became too much for Citizens to bear, and they had to do the right thing.”

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