Protesters Target Citizens Bank Over Financing of ICE Detention Giants CoreCivic and GEO Group

A coalition of local interfaith and civic organizations gathered at Latham Park in Stamford on Thursday to protest Citizens Bank’s financing of CoreCivic and the GEO Group, two major private prison corporations deeply involved in operating ICE detention facilities across the United States.

The demonstrators marched in front of UConn Stamford on Broad Street, urging Citizens Bank to immediately cease funding these companies that profit from the harsh and often abusive immigrant detention system. Until Citizens Bank ends its financial ties to CoreCivic and GEO Group, protesters are calling for a boycott of the bank’s branches, including its Stamford location on Board Street.

Clergy members at the protest emphasized the moral imperative behind their action. Rev. Joseph Rose told News 12, “This is not a political action. This is a moral action. We are giving witness saying that as clergy and spiritual leaders we feel that what is happening right now in our country is not alignment with how we feel God calls us to live in community together.” Rose condemned the chaos and division wrought by current immigration enforcement policies as contrary to faith values centered on compassion and community care.

Citizens Bank responded with a statement emphasizing its commitment to responsible banking and community investment. The bank said it conducts business with “rigorous due diligence, regulatory compliance, and responsible risk management” and noted its substantial charitable contributions and volunteer efforts nationwide. However, Citizens Bank declined to comment on specific client relationships, leaving open questions about its continued financial involvement with companies profiting from the ICE detention apparatus.

This protest is part of a growing movement demanding accountability from financial institutions that bankroll the private prison industry, which has been repeatedly exposed for perpetuating inhumane conditions, family separations, and civil rights violations in ICE detention centers. By spotlighting Citizens Bank’s role, activists aim to cut off funding streams that enable the expansion of a for-profit detention system built on suffering and systemic abuse.

The ongoing collaboration between private banks and predatory prison companies underscores the urgent need for transparency and ethical standards in financial services. As the immigrant community faces escalating threats, grassroots pressure campaigns like this protest seek to dismantle the economic foundations of mass detention and hold institutions complicit in these abuses accountable.