About 50 demonstrators gathered Thursday, April 30, outside a Citizens Bank branch in Great Neck, calling on the financial institution to cut ties with private prison companies they say support federal immigration detention.
The rally, held in the afternoon at the intersection of Middle Neck Road and Grace Avenue, was part of a coordinated national day of action organized by Bend the Arc Jewish Action and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Similar demonstrations took place in 17 cities across the country, according to organizers.
Participants, many from Jewish communities in Long Island, held signs, sang and prayed while calling attention to the bank’s reported financial relationships with private prison operators GEO Group and CoreCivic, both of which contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“This particular Citizens Bank is in the heart of Great Neck,” said Jeanette Walowitz, a volunteer leader with Bend the Arc’s Long Island chapter. “It was a very visible location. Our goal was to expose what Citizens Bank is doing to financially support corporations that bankroll ICE detention centers.”
Organizers said the protest was rooted in both policy concerns and religious values. During the rally, participants read aloud the names of individuals who died in ICE detention this year and cited Jewish teachings about the treatment of strangers.
“In the Torah, it’s cited 36 times that you should treat the stranger as your brother,” Walowitz said. “So we as Jews have a moral, ethical obligation to support and protect immigrants.”
Walowitz alleged that conditions inside detention facilities include abuse, medical neglect and deprivation, and said about 60 people have died in or connected to ICE custody in 2026. She contended that banks play a critical role in enabling the system.
“If it wasn’t for banks like Citizens, these corporations could not expand to the degree that they’re expanding,” she said.
The group is calling on Citizens Bank to end its financial relationships with the two prison operators. Organizers pointed to similar efforts elsewhere as signs of growing national pressure. In Rhode Island, a union representing graduate and undergraduate students at Brown University moved to withdraw nearly $500,000 from the bank over its ties to ICE contractors, according to theRhode Island Current.
In a statement, Citizens spokesman Rory Sheehan said the bank does not comment on specific client relationships but conducts “rigorous due diligence and ongoing monitoring” of all partnerships. He added that the bank remains committed to community investment, including funding affordable housing initiatives.
Source: LI Press
