Clergy with the Greater Boston Interfaith Organization Monday withdrew $1 million from an account with Citizens Bank as it urged the institution to cut ties with two companies that finance and operate immigrant detention centers.
The withdrawal was highlighted by a rally in front of the Citizens Copley Square branch at the bustling corner of Dartmouth and Boylston Streets in Back Bay.
The group said it’s prepared to withdraw at least $13 million more in protest of Citizens’ relationships with a pair of companies that operate detention centers nationwide if the company does not schedule a meeting with its organizers and ultimately sever ties.
“We’re not here because we hate Citizens Bank,” said the Rev. Ray Hammond, pastor of Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jamaica Plains. “We’re here because we know what Citizens Bank can be,” he said, adding that “faith without action is dead, but faith with organized people and organized money can transform the world.”
“We’re deeply troubled with what they are doing with our money,” said Rev. John Edgerton, senior minister of Back Bay’s Old South Church.
“We are here today because we need to let the banks know that people of good faith, people of good conscience, people of Goodwill, our neighbors, will not stand for building private prisons, for building deportation machines, for crushing our neighbors underneath their wheels for profit,” Edgerton said. “No, not with our money.”
Edgerton, whose church is a member of the GBIO, was flanked by about 40 others who said their faith was behind their push to get Citizens to stop doing business with Core Civic and the GEO Group, two companies that operate and invest in private prisons.
Charlie Homer, a member of Temple Sinai in Brookline said that together, the two companies operate more than half of the 72,000 detention beds across the United States.
“Their human rights record is truly reprehensible,” said Homer, describing a list of issues including inhumane living conditions, understaffing, violence, and inadequate medical care.
In a statement, Citizens spokesperson Rory Sheehan said they do not comment on specific clients, but the bank “stands by” customers that meet their standards and operate lawfully.
“Every relationship is subject to rigorous due diligence and ongoing monitoring, and we are prepared to exit relationships when those standards are not met, consistent with contractual and regulatory obligations,” the statement read. “More broadly, it is unfair to view Citizens through a single‑issue lens. We remain deeply committed to supporting the communities we serve.”
A spokesperson for CoreCivic pointed to its human rights policy that guides detainee rights, treatment and safety, and said the company plays a “limited but important role” in America’s immigration system.
“We have a long-standing, zero-tolerance policy not to advocate for or against any legislation that serves as the basis for — or determines the duration of — an individual’s detention,” said Ryan Gustin, CoreCivic senior director of public affairs in a statement. “CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws, arrest anyone who may be in violation of immigration laws, or have any say whatsoever in an individual’s deportation or release. CoreCivic also does not know the circumstances of individuals when they are placed in our facilities. Our responsibility is to care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to.”
The GEO Group did not return emails seeking comment.
The faith-based campaign comes two months after Emmanuel Cleeford Damas died on March 2 while in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in Arizona. Damas was living in Dorchester when he was seized by ICE last September after an alleged domestic assault charge landed him in Boston Police custody.
Damas’ family has said that he was picked up by ICE and transported to Arizona despite their posting his bail. Later, family members say, his untreated toothache quickly developed into a more severe medical condition. An ICE press release days after his death indicates a physician where he received care reported Damas’ preliminary cause of death as unknown. NPR reports more than two dozen people have died while in ICE custody since the start of the federal fiscal year.
Multiple speakers at Monday’s rally characterized Citizens as complicit in purveying of injustice.
“We call upon Citizens Bank to become citizens of justice,” said Reverend Greg Groover, pastor of Roxbury’s historic Charles Street African Methodist Episcopal Church. “Stop supporting these humanly unlivable prisons and this current administration’s effort to deport our good-meaning sisters and brothers in ungodly ways… Stop it! Or in the name of the Jesus of justice, we will stop doing banking with you.”
David Lerner, senior rabbi of Temple Emunah in Lexington, said he is a Citizens shareholder and a 22-year customer.
“The Bible says in the book of Leviticus, ‘Lo ta’amod al dam re’echa’ — do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor,” Lerner said in Hebrew and English. “We act today because our traditions command us not to stand idly by, so we’re standing with power.”
Lerner acknowledged that GBIO’s $14.5 million is “not a huge percentage” of capital, given that Citizens boasts total assets in excess of $200 billion and deposits of more than $175 billion. But he is hopeful the symbolic movement will grow.
“It’s a symbol that we say to this bank and to all corporations, if you are engaging in things that are unjust, that has an impact on your business, we’re not standing by, we’re going to call it out.”
