#ShutDownICEProfiteers Moving Forward

Report and update on the growing #AbolishICE movement and the push to shut down ICE profiteers.

As the Abolish ICE movement erupts again, private prison corporations contracting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain migrants are feeling the heat. GEO Group and CoreCivic, who together exert near duopolistic power over the private prison sector, have been hit hard by a wave bank divestments. In just a few weeks, from late June to mid-July some of the industry’s leading lenders, Bank of America, SunTrust, BNP Paribas (parent company of Bank of the West) and Fifth Third all announced plans to cut ties with private prisons. They join JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo, who agreed to cease further financing the companies in March 2019.

The divestments have roughly correlated with a groundswell of rebellion. Large swathes of U.S. society are recoiling in the face of the draconian xenophobia of the Trump administration, particularly after conditions detailing the mass detention of migrant children were revealed. Never Again Action and Movimiento Cosecha have revived the disruptive spirit of Occupy ICE from a year ago, launching new rounds of blockades at detention centers, ICE Field Offices and the offices of political leaders.

#ShutDownICEProfiteers was initiated with a public call for a week of action, released by Olympia Assembly and Block the Wall Network. The July 8th-12th Week of Action call urged coordinated direct action to shut down branches of banks financing migrant detention.

In July, #NYC activists began a campaign against PNC Bank, the last major bank still funding ICE's concentration camps. Part of a nationwide campaign to shutdown #ICE profiteers. The fight continues later this month!#DivestFromICE #AbolishICE @PNCBank @macc_nyc @IGD_News pic.twitter.com/DOyJFgcana

— Ali (@aijaffery) August 8, 2019

During the week, Bank of the West branches were shuttered on multiple occasions in Seattle and Portland, anarchists and community groups took action against PNC in NYC,  Asheville, Tampa, and Atlanta and ICE-tech collaborators Microsoft,  Amazon and Palantir all faced protests. Phone zaps were also organized against PNC and Bank of the West branches. Although much credit must be extended to longstanding divestment campaigners, the intervention of anti-authoritarians advancing an explicit direct action strategy into the movement could have been the last straw for some financial firms.

Although the movement has secured key victories recently, more work remains to be done. Other banks maintain investments in CoreCivic and GEO Group. CoreCivic and GEO also have large institutional shareholders who haven’t indicated they will relinquish their stock holdings. As leading financiers crumble under public pressure and exposure (or even the mere threat of pressure or exposure), now is the time to up the ante.

Our 7/26 #DivestfromICE rolling picket in downtown Seattle hit U.S. Bank, HSBC, Barclays, BlackRock Inc. and Prudential Financial. We occupied bank branches and shut down building lobbies. Thanks to everyone for joining us!
Stay tuned for a full report. #ShutDownICEProfiteers pic.twitter.com/VbDpnPG2uG

— Olympia Assembly (@OlympiaAssembly) July 27, 2019

Already, #ShutDownICEProfiteers organizers have shifted attention to new financial targets. On July 26th, a rolling picket winding through downtown Seattle occupied HSBC and U.S. Bank branches and shut down the lobbies of investment firm offices, Prudential Financial, BlackRock and Barclays. In Tampa, another round of disruptions hit 3 PNC bank branches in one day. As of this writing, bank shutdowns also are planned in Olympia WA for August 12th.

If your interested in organization divestment action in your community please not the following financial information. Links with locations of banks branches and investment firm offices are listed.

Remaining Banks Invested in GEO Group and CoreCivic

According to financial data published in April 2019 (Bank of America, SunTrust and BNP have divested since), these are some of the banks continuing to issue term loans and revolving credit lines to GEO and CoreCivic or are underwriting bonds for the companies:

PNC Bank – CoreCivic.

Find PNC branches.

Barclays – GEO Group and CoreCivic (bond underwriter)

Find Barclays branches.

Citizens Bank  – CoreCivic.

Find citizens bank branches

Regions Bank – CoreCivic.

Find Regions Bank branches.

U.S. Bank – CoreCivic (bond trustee)

Find U.S. Bank branches.

Pinnacle Bank – CoreCivic

Find Pinnacle Bank branches.

A recent CBS News report compiled statements from the banks maintaining investments in the private prison industry. While many refused to comment or issued vague, meaningless statements, Pinnacle Bank was the only one to state definitively that they do not plan to exit financial relationships with GEO and CoreCivic. The report also reads: “Two additional banks told CBS MoneyWatch they have no plans to lend to the private prison industry in the future: Barclays and U.S. Bank.” While these are not formal divestment announcements, they do indicate that Barclays and U.S. Bank could be feeling the heat. (NOTE: The U.S. Bank statement is deceptive; U.S. Bank hasn’t issued loans to GEO or CoreCivic for many years, at least. However, they are the “bond trustee” for CoreCivic and have not announced intentions to exit this position. While bond trustees do not provide direct financing, they facilitate financing by assuming an important administrative role and by underwriting bonds, buying bonds from an issuer and re-selling them to individual bondholders.)

Major Institutional Shareholders of GEO and CoreCivic:

*This data was obtained through institutional holdings listings on NASDAQ and was last updated on 3/31/2019. To find exact holding values use the NASDAQ website for GEO or CoreCivic. Offices listed may or may not be accessible to the public.

Vanguard Group – CoreCivic and GEO Group

Vanguard offices.

BlackRock – CoreCivic and GEO Group

BlackRock offices.

Prudential Financial – CoreCivic and GEO Group

Prudential offices.

State Street Corp – CoreCivic and GEO Group

State Street Corp offices.

Like blockades at detention centers or airports, financial streams are another artery within the deportation and detention infrastructure that can be clogged through direct action. With the divestment momentum growing, now is the time to intervene in this node. Bank shutdowns are planned in Olympia WA on August 12th, as of this writing.

Upcoming Events:

• August 12th: Shut Down ICE Profiteers in Olympia, Washington. More info here.
• August 13th: Shut Down ICE Profiteers in Troy, Michigan. More info here.
• August 27th: Shut Down ICE Profiteers in New York, NY. More info here.

HSBC branch shut down in Seattle