Boston Clergy Demand Citizens Bank Cut Ties With ICE Detention Center Funders

Boston’s clergy have taken a bold stand against Citizens Bank, demanding the financial giant stop supporting the private prison companies that operate ICE detention centers. Pastor Dieufort Fleurissaint of Mattapan, whose ministry has witnessed firsthand the trauma inflicted by ICE raids and detentions, leads a coalition of faith groups under the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization (GBIO) pushing this urgent call for accountability.

CoreCivic and The GEO Group, notorious for profiting off human suffering, have received more than $2 billion in financing from Citizens Bank over the past 12 years. These companies run facilities where immigrants are held in often inhumane conditions as they await deportation. GBIO’s protest at a recent Citizens shareholder meeting in Providence brought together some 60 organizations demanding the bank sever these ties.

This is no ordinary protest. Citizens Bank has historically supported GBIO’s community work, including financial literacy programs for its members. Many churches, synagogues, and mosques affiliated with GBIO bank with Citizens. Now, GBIO threatens to pull $12.7 million in deposits in $1 million increments starting immediately, leveraging its financial power to push for change.

Rev. Ray Hammond of Bethel AME Church, a longtime GBIO leader and former Citizens board member, framed the protest as a response to a national emergency. “ICE is part of an administration invested in intimidating immigrants and American citizens who oppose their agenda,” Hammond said. “We are not on board with that.”

Citizens Bank’s spokesperson refused to confirm client relationships or meetings with GBIO but insisted the bank conducts “rigorous due diligence” and is “prepared to exit relationships” when standards are not met. Yet the bank’s statement also emphasized a broader commitment to community support, trying to deflect from the specific issue of financing private ICE detention centers.

This fight exposes the corporate infrastructure enabling ICE’s brutal immigration enforcement. As Pastor Fleurissaint put it, GBIO wants Citizens Bank to “act morally, and respect principles of justice and human dignity.” With millions on the line and growing public scrutiny, Citizens Bank now faces a critical test of its values — and its willingness to profit from the misery of immigrant families.

The clergy’s stand is a powerful reminder that the fight against ICE’s abuses extends beyond government policy to the financial institutions that make it possible. Citizens Bank is on the clock.