NEWARK, NJ: Citizens Bank’s comment last week that it will exit the credit facilities for GEO Group and CoreCivic represents a significant victory for community advocacy and sustained public pressure. In a press statement today, New Jersey Citizen Action’s Director of CRA, Leila Amirhamzeh said:

“We thank the many community members who organized, spoke out, and engaged in peaceful protest to ensure their voices were heard. Here in New Jersey and across the country, people came together to demand that Citizens Bank, like all financial institutions, must align their lending and investment practices with the values of equity, justice, and respect for human dignity. This outcome reflects the power of advocacy.

“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. That is meaningful progress.

"At the same time, this moment calls for more than acknowledgment; it calls for accountability and repair. 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.

"We recognize the Bank’s existing community contributions and partnerships. This is an opportunity to build on that record not only by investing with purpose, but by ensuring that all aspects of its business are aligned with human rights, dignity, and community well-being.

"This decision is an important milestone, but it is not the end of the conversation. It is the beginning of a broader reckoning across the financial sector about the responsibility institutions have in shaping systems that impact millions of lives. We hope that other businesses and financial institutions follow their lead and do not support this kind of activity if they are."

###
New Jersey Citizen Action is a statewide advocacy and empowerment organization that fights for social, racial and economic justice for all.