The following announcement was provided by Indivisible Progressive Watertown:
Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has gone “too far” in its immigration crackdown and are making communities “less safe.” But how can they voice their concerns with ICE and the Trump administration?
One action they can take is to go after the companies that are supporting and abetting the government’s aggressive immigration crackdown.
One of these companies is Citizens Bank, a major financial institution with 1,000 branches in 15 states, most of them in the Eastern US.
On Saturday, June 6, the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition will hold a National Day of Action to protest the billions of dollars of financial support the bank has provided to prison companies operating dozens of ICE immigration detention centers across the country. Watertown’s Protest will be held on Saturday, June 13th, one week later, at 630 Mt. Auburn Street from 10-11 a.m. Feel free to join another protest on the 6th and then join us a week later.
More than 120 peaceful protests will be held outside Citizens Bank branches in 15 states, including California, Kansas and all Northeast states. Close to 40 actions will take place in Massachusetts with 25 in the greater Boston area. interested in participating, this interactive map shows all protest locations and times.
We’ll also be launching a financial pressure campaign, “Not with Our Money, Citizens,’ which has already attracted $20 million in withdrawal pledges by bank customers angry about the bank’s long-standing financial ties to prison companies, CoreCivic and The GEO Group. The campaign is a joint effort of our coalition and Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO).
Despite its public commitment to community-centered institutions and social responsibility, Citizens Bank has been providing loans, underwriting bonds and providing credit to the country’s two largest prison companies for a dozen years.
It has played a key role in helping them access more than $2.5 billion in financing, including $100 million of expanded credit approved for GEO Group earlier this year. This, despite egregious records of human rights abuses, understaffing and medical mistreatment at their detention facilities. In just the past few weeks, hundreds of detainees have launched hunger and labor strikes at GEO Group detention centers in New Jersey, California and Michigan. All are being driven by alleged inhumane conditions at the facilities.
While JPMorgan, Barclays and a half-dozen other major banks ended their relationships with the private prison industry in 2019, Citizens has strengthened its ties to the industry.
That’s especially bad news right now.
We are seeing an explosion in mass detentions in this country and it’s only just beginning. ICE is currently holding more than 60,000 immigrants in prisons and detention centers, a 50% jump from January 2025. ICE is working to substantially boost that number in the coming months, to more than 100,000 beds.
Both prison companies are cashing in by reopening closed detention centers and opening new ones in states around the country. Their profits are also soaring.
On an investor call in early February, CoreCivic CEO Patrick Swindle said the company told ICE it can provide an additional 13,000 beds, nearly doubling the 16,000 beds it was operating at the end of 2025.
GEO Group is equally bullish. In addition to adding thousands more beds in recent months, the company is scaling up ICE surveillance programs with “higher-priced” GPS ankle monitors and an expanded role in helping ICE track down and target immigrants.
If you’re skeptical that small grassroots activism against one of the nation’s largest banks can achieve change, think again.
We’ve already seen major companies supporting and profiting from President Trump’s policies get punished for it.
When Disney and its ABC affiliate suspended Jimmy Kimmel’s show last fall over his remarks about Charlie Kirk’s fatal shooting, viewers quickly responded. Disney’s streaming apps lost more than one million paid subscribers in a matter of days. The show was quickly restored – a major victory for free speech.
When Avelo Airlines, a budget commercial airline signed a big contract to handle deportation flights for ICE, they met intense opposition from customers, activists and politicians. After months of protests at airports nationwide, including the Bradley and New Haven airports in Connecticut, Avelo backed down. In December, the airline announced it was getting out of the deportation business.
Now we want to hold Citizens Bank accountable for its deplorable business practices, just as we did with Avelo. Please join us on June 6 if you’re unhappy with the ICE agenda and companies that are enabling it. To learn more, visit the De-ICE Citizens Bank website here.
Or, Contact: Indivisible Progressive Watertown at: indivisibleprogresswatertown@gmail.com