Major Bank Reverses Course After NJ Towns Yank Millions Over ICE Prison Links

One of the biggest banks in the nation says it is cutting financial ties with two private prison companies that have faced public criticism for holding ICE detainees in North Jersey.

Activists in several states have been pressuring Citizens Bank into cutting off loans, bond underwriting and credit lines for CoreCivic and the GEO Group.

The GEO Group owns Delaney Hall in Newark, and CoreCivic owns the Elizabeth Detention Center in Union County. The two corporations receive taxpayer funds to run dozens of federal ICE detention centers across the country.

A series of national protests against Citizens Bank included several demonstrations in North Jersey last June. Activists have been calling for towns, cities and individual account holders to “divest” from Citizens until their demands are met.

Several major lenders including JP Morgan, Chase, Wells Fargo and Barclays pledged to cut ties with CoreCivic and GEO Group in 2019 after a public backlash. However – despite Citizen Bank’s commitment to social responsibility – the company has been providing loans and credit to CoreCivic and the GEO Group for more than a decade.

That is coming to an end, Citizens Bank announced Friday.

“Over the past year, we have been targeted by several activist groups regarding our relationships with two private prison operators, CoreCivic and the GEO Group,” spokespeople said.

“To date, we have refrained from commenting directly given our commitment to maintaining client privacy,” Citizens Bank continued. “However, given recent developments, we feel it is appropriate to comment at this time.”

Here’s how the bank explained its decision:

“GEO has been a client of the bank since 2018, and CoreCivic has been a client since 2011. Among the services these companies offer is the operation of prisons under service contracts with the federal and various state governments. This includes contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate detention facilities for those individuals scheduled for deportation. Both companies also own various facilities in addition to their service contracts. The federal government recently purchased several facilities owned by CoreCivic and has indicated its intention to purchase a number of others owned by GEO. This has the effect of reducing the required capital of the companies going forward, as they will largely operate as service companies. Given how these companies' capital needs and financing structures have evolved, and their reduced need for a bank with Citizens' full range of capabilities, Citizens has determined that it is now appropriate to exit the credit facilities for these clients.”

Citizens Bank said the move was not done in response to the demands from anti-ICE activists.

“This is a business decision based on changed commercial circumstances and does not reflect any change in our view regarding these companies' business models or operations,” the bank asserted in a public statement.

According to Citizens, it is against bank regulation to deny banking services to individuals and to lawful businesses based on political or religious considerations, a practice referred to as “debanking.”

“Public characterizations of Citizens by activist groups, including as it relates to our commitment to immigrants and to communities, do not reflect who we are or the record we have built,” spokespeople added. “Citizens is deeply committed to serving our customers, colleagues, and communities. That commitment includes funding for 140 nonprofit partners serving immigrant communities across multiple markets.”

DIVESTING IN NORTH JERSEY

Several towns and cities in North Jersey have discussed pulling their municipal funds from Citizens Bank – with two recently making moves to do so.

Jersey City has begun pulling its funds from Citizens Bank, local officials confirmed last week. The city reportedly held about $265 million at Citizens.

The Montclair Town Council voted to pull any municipal funds from Citizens at their July 14 meeting. The resolution authorized municipal staff to divest from the bank “as soon as is practicable.” The township reportedly has $91.1 million invested with Citizens Bank.

Nearby in Bloomfield, the town’s mayor recently asked administrators to conduct a full review of its relationship with Citizens Bank. “This review will help us determine whether that partnership continues to reflect our community’s values and our commitment to ethical stewardship of public funds,” she said.

On Monday, the mayor of New Jersey’s largest city issued a statement about the announcement from Citizens Bank involving the GEO Group and CoreCivic.

“Revelations about Citizens Bank’s involvement as a main funder of the ICE prison network have brought about many positive results,” Newark Mayor Ras Baraka said.

“Here in Newark, they prompted a review of our financial institutions and revealed the remnants of two long-dormant accounts established in Investors Bank before its acquisition by Citizens in 2022,” he said. “Combined, they totaled $649.93.”

“Regardless of the small amount, we took immediate action to begin the process of closing those accounts,” Baraka continued. “Rightly, the last place our residents would want their hard-earned tax dollars deposited would be a bank supporting an operation that terrorizes them – or their neighbors.”

Activists with the De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition – which says it represents over 175 groups in 16 states – penned a letter to bank executives on Thursday, saying that the announcement is welcome and a “step in the right direction” – but leaves several unanswered questions.

• “When will existing credit facilities with CoreCivic and GEO be fully wound down?”
• “Does this exit extend to underwriting, bond issuances, or other capital markets support Citizens may provide to these companies, beyond direct lending?”
• “Will Citizens commit to no new loans, credit facilities, or renewals with these two companies, or with other private prison operators, going forward?”

“As we have said for months, a bank that claims to care for communities has no business financing companies with documented histories of neglect, abuse and mistreatment at their facilities,” activists charged.

“Doing good in one arena does not offset harm caused in another,” they added.

Some New Jersey activists have also reacted to the news with cautious optimism.

“This outcome reflects the power of advocacy,” said Leila Amirhamzeh of New Jersey Citizen Action.

“While Citizens Bank has characterized its decision as a business matter, the result is clear: the bank will no longer provide this form of financial support to two of the largest private detention operators in the country,” Amirhamzeh said. “That is meaningful progress.”

“At the same time, this moment calls for more than acknowledgment; it calls for accountability and repair,” Amirhamzeh said. “Citizens Bank now has an obligation to take the next step: to meaningfully reinvest in and repair harm in the communities negatively impacted by the detention system its financing helped sustain. That includes deepening and expanding investments in immigrant communities and engaging transparently with community stakeholders about the path forward.”

Other advocacy groups that have urged Citizens Bank to sever financial ties with CoreCivic and the GEO Group include 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, AFT New Jersey, Black Lives Matter NJ, BlueWaveNJ, Care in Action, Cooper River Indivisible, CWA Local 1037, CWA Local 1081, Fair Share Housing Center, Faith in New Jersey, Fort Lee Visibility Brigade, Gateway Community Action Partnership, Greater New Jersey Chapter Of The Coalition of Black Trade Unionist, GWB Indivisible, HPAE - Health Professionals and Allied Employees, Hyacinth Foundation, Indivisible Central NJ, Indivisible Cranbury, Indivisible Highland Park NJ, Ironbound Community Corporation, Latino Action Network, Montclair Indivisible, National Domestic Workers Alliance, Neighborhood Trust Financial Partners, New Jersey Coalition of Religious Leaders, New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition, New Jersey Policy Perspective, New Jersey Working Families Alliance, New Labor, Newark Teachers Union, NJ Communities United, NJ Resistance, OneNJ7, Plainfield Area Indivisible, Professional Paperwork Services, PSK Strategic Solutions, Rapha HealthCare Services Healing Initiative, Region Nine Housing Corporation, RUBY’S VISION INC., Salvation and Social Justice, Sandkamp Woodworks LLC, SEIU 32BJ, SJNOW Indivisible, SOMA Action, SPAN Parent Advocacy Network, The Institute of Music for Children Inc., The Resistance Alliance, The Waterfront Project, West Essex Indivisible, El Pueblo Unido of Atlantic City y Pueblos Cercanos, and Workers United.

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