Many Americans are asking how they can fight ICE’s shockingly lawless and brazen snatching of immigrants off our streets and into prisons without due process.
One big step against ICE occurred on Feb. 5 when the Cambridge City Manager joined other nearby cities in issuing executive orders restraining ICE activities (Cambridge Day, Feb 6, 2026, “Somerville, Cambridge police could intervene against ICE agents” ).
We can now support the effort by the City Council to finish codifying this executive order into the city’s Welcoming Community Ordinance.
Another completely different tactic is to block the financing of private prison companies that operate ICE detention centers.
It turns out that Citizens Bank, which has five branches in Cambridge, has played a key role in helping the country’s two largest prison operators, CoreCivic and The GEO Group, to access more than $2.5 billion in capital to expand their businesses – and continues to do so (boycottcitizens.org).
While most major banks have ended their relationships with the prison industry, Citizens Bank has strengthened its ties.
When Avelo Airlines started handling ICE deportation flights, it met intense public opposition. After months of protests at airports nationwide, Avelo backed down. In December, it announced it was getting out of the deportation business.
The newly-formed De-ICE Citizens Bank Coalition is similarly spreading the word about Citizens Bank ‘s connections to ICE. The coalition believes that Citizens will terminate its financial relationships with ICE prison operators when it realizes its reputation is at stake.
On the morning of Sat. March 7, the coalition will hold peaceful informational demonstrations at more than 60 Citizens Bank branches across the eastern US, including bank branches in Central, Harvard and Porter Squares. An interactive map that shows all locations, times, and signup links is at tinyurl.com/De-ICECitizensBank
Laura McMurry, Harvard St., Cambridge.
A stronger
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Thanks to the author for providing info on another way we can take action against ICE. It’s good to take all possible actions against ICE’s ability to lock people up.