PROVIDENCE – About 100 protesters gathered outside the Citizens Bank branch at 120 Waterman St. on Providence’s East Side on March 7, as part of a regional campaign targeting the bank’s financial relationships with private prison operators that contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The demonstrations were organized by the De‑ICE Citizens Bank Coalition, a group started a few months ago by activists in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Small Office, Big Impact: Rhode Island Health Care Association Upgrades to Energy-Efficient Lighting
For many small businesses and nonprofit organizations, relatively simple upgrades can deliver meaningful savings while…
Learn More
The coalition said the protest was among more than 60 across the eastern U.S., including branches in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
According to the coalition, Citizens Bank has provided loans, underwritten bonds and extended credit to CoreCivic and The GEO Group for more than a decade, including financing that was approved this year.
Other major banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Barclays, ended their relationships with private prison operators in 2019, the coalition noted.
“Opposition to Citizens Bank for its deplorable financial support to prison companies and the ICE agenda is getting bigger and louder by the day,” said Peyton Fleming, spokesperson for the De‑ICE Citizens Bank Coalition. “Citizens Bank continues to bankroll companies that are cashing in on the explosion of immigrant arrests and incarcerations across the country. While other banks have ended their relationships with prison companies, Citizens is doing the opposite.”
The coalition’s campaign calls on Citizens Bank to publicly end its financial ties with private prison and detention contractors.
Matthew McNulty is a PBN staff writer. He can be reached at McNulty@PBN.com or on X at @MattMcNultyNYC.
