The Jersey City Council unanimously approved (9-0) a resolution last night to divest from Citizens Bank since they have provided roughly $2.5 billion towards U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers in New Jersey.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“[Citizens Bank] finances Geo Group, a private prison company, as part of its cash management plan. We’ve had money in Citizens Bank,” Ward D Councilman Jake Ephros, a resolution co-sponsor explained.
“I want to thank the Administration and the Clerk’s office for the late edition … This is a financial institution that has $229 billion in assets,” noted Ward B Councilman Joel Brooks, the other resolution co-sponsor.
He added that while it may be difficult to “fight against the deportation machine,” accountability is still possible, noting that Citizens Bank provided funding for CoreCivic, who runs the detention center in Elizabeth, and the GEO Group, which operates Delaney Hall in Newark.
“There are people in this room … and people watching that have been to Delaney Hall to put their bodies on the line to try to stop or slow down this inhumane system. I am proud that our city is taking a stand to fight back,” Brooks concluded.
Ephros appreciated the speed at which the administration took to place the resolution on the agenda, which was a late item.
“These are Jersey City families being detained there, and we’ve had just countless hours of tireless work from advocates who have been supporting those families … to demand recognition of the hunger and labor strike that is going on inside of Delaney Hall,” Ephros noted.
“This is the least we can do as a city to make sure we’re not financially complicit with the financing of that center.”
Ward E Councilwoman Eleana Little, who has also been to Delaney Hall recently along with Brooks and Ephros, was happy to support the measure, as did Councilman at-Large Michael Griffin.
“I fully share your concerns with Citizens Bank and was proud to stand beside you at Delaney Hall,” Ward E Councilperson Elena Little said.
“When you talk about Delaney Hall… we have a congresswoman [LaMonica McIver] who is facing 20 years. We have a mayor [Ras Baraka] who was arrested. We have women being abducted and having miscarriages in Delaney Hall,” he declared.
“We’re talking about people eating rotten food … or food with worms in it. We are a sanctuary city: to divest in Citizens Bank is the right thing to do. It’s the moral thing to do.”
Councilman at-Large Rolando Lavarro was also in agreement with his colleagues.
“Jersey City should not be in any way supporting organizations and institutions that are financing the incarceration and illegal profit-making machine that’s threatening our neighbors and communities in JC. It’s against everything we stand for,” he asserted.
The Jersey City Council approved the resolution 9-0.
Mayor James Solomon, Brooks, and Ephros called for divesting from Citizens Bank shortly before the council meeting started yesterday, as HCV first reported.
In February, U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) urged the New Jersey State Investment Council to divest the $130 million in Palantir funding, citing their ongoing $30 million agreement with ICE.
Further, in late April, Mussab Ali, who challenged Menendez (he won by a 69-31 margin) in the June 2nd primary, called on the incumbent to stop using Citizens Bank for his campaign account filed with the Federal Elections Commission for their aforementioned ties to ICE.
 a resolution last night to divest from Citizens Bank for $2.5B in ICE detention financing.){kind=link}