Gregg Jarrett: Banking discrimination based on politics is illegal
legal analyst Gregg Jarrett tells Lawrence Jones that banking discrimination for political or religious purposes is illegal. Jarrett asserts that federal and state laws protect consumers, making it unlawful to close accounts based on political or religious beliefs, unless criminal activity is suspected. He warns of civil enforcement actions, including significant financial penalties, for banks and their officers.
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Citizens Bank is ending its financial relationships with two of the nation’s largest private prison companies following months of protests over their role in operating ICE detention facilities, though the bank insists the decision was driven by changing business conditions rather than political pressure.
The Rhode Island-based lender said it will wind down its lending relationships with CoreCivic and GEO Group, companies that have operated immigration detention centers under federal contracts. Activists who had urged customers and municipalities to cut ties with the bank hailed the move as a victory, while Citizens said the companies’ financing needs had changed because the federal government plans to acquire some detention facilities.
“Over the past year, we have been targeted by several activist groups regarding our relationships with two private prison operators, CoreCivic and The GEO Group,” Citizens Bank said in a July 17 announcement. “To date, we have refrained from commenting directly given our commitment to maintaining client privacy. However, given recent developments, we feel it is appropriate to comment at this time.”
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This Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019, photo shows the Adelanto U.S. Immigration and Enforcement Processing Center operated by GEO Group, Inc. (GEO) a Florida-based company specializing in privatized corrections in Adelanto, Calif.
“GEO has been a client of the bank since 2018, and CoreCivic has been a client since 2011,” the announcement continued. “Among the services these companies offer is the operation of prisons under service contracts with the federal and various state governments. This includes contracting with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to operate detention facilities for those individuals scheduled for deportation. Both companies also own various facilities in addition to their service contracts.”
Citizens said it decided to end its lending relationship with CoreCivic and GEO Group because recent federal purchases of correctional facilities have reduced the companies’ capital needs and changed how they finance their operations. The bank said the decision was driven by those business changes, not by any concerns about the companies or their business practices.
“Citizens has been disappointed that the activists have dragged it into what is largely a political matter,” the bank’s announcement continued. “Public characterizations of Citizens by activist groups, including as it relates to our commitment to immigrants and to communities, do not reflect who we are or the record we have built. Citizens is deeply committed to serving our customers, colleagues, and communities.”
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An exterior view of a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) administrative office and processing center on June 28, 2025. (Paul Weaver/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The bank also highlighted its broader community investments, saying it supports 140 nonprofit organizations that serve immigrant communities, logged more than 265,000 employee volunteer hours last year, has staff serving on more than 1,000 nonprofit boards, and provided $2 billion in community development financing for affordable housing and local economic development.
In a statement to Digital, a spokesman for CoreCivic said that the company “is a lawful business that has served government partners at the federal, state and local levels, under administrations of both parties, for more than 40 years. Our financial position is the strongest it has been in the company’s history and we value very much our diverse set of financial partners that help support the company’s capital needs.”
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Police officers patrol outside of Delany Hall, an immigrant detention center in Newark, N.J., on May 13, 2025. (Stephanie Keith for Digital)
It added, “We remain focused on delivering safe, high-quality services for our government partners and delivering quality outcomes which is where we believe our emphasis should be.”
Digital contacted Citizens Bank, which referred to its July 17 statement. Digital also reached out to ICE and GEO Group for comment.
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