Mike Ritter Photo

ICE has killed my Dorchester neighbor, Emmanuel Damas, and others with neglect. Citizens Bank helped finance his murder. These pictures are from a rally organized by LUCE for Emmanuel Damas who died in ICE custody last month. There are two languages power understands: Where you put your body and where you put your money. I'm speaking in the latter this week.

ICE took Damas to an Arizona detention center run by CoreCivic where a toothache was ignored until it became septic. He died handcuffed to a hospital ICU bed on March 2nd. He wasn't here illegally nor was he a criminal as ICE stated while also claiming those they keep in custody are in "safe, humane environments."

I've been a Citizens Bank customer for over 25 years. They were a good bank for my business and personal accounts. But, turns out, they also have financed the private prison and detention industry since at least 2012. Since 2024, Citizens helped GEO and CoreCivic, the two largest private prison companies in the US and two of ICE's most important corporate partners, access more than $2.5B in financing.

I realize it's a fool's errand to expect purity in any organization (especially a corporation) or person; but I also realize our morals must be more than spoken and that small actions can lead to big ones. In 2019, in response to activists and shareholders, eight major banks (none of them angels) ended their relationships with the private prison industry, but Citizens did not. If Citizens can't find a better place to put its money in 2026 than these for profit prison / detention center hell holes, I'll have to do it for them... at least with my money. I'm now in the process of rolling over all my accounts to Eastern Bank.

I'm ashamed to see what the United States has done to Emmanuel Damas and his family. I'm ashamed my soon-to-be former bank helped finance this behavior. As Emmanuel's brothers said, he wouldn't have died of a toothache in Haiti.

Sometimes hopeful photographers reach out to me at the beginning of their careers asking for advice. I tell them to take money seriously and know what they're worth. Us photographers aren't often the most financially savvy types. On the hand, I wish Citizens Bank and so many other corporations wouldn't let money seemingly be the only thing considered in their decision making. There are so many more important factors we're all encouraged to rationalize away like the humanity of our neighbors.

https://www.de-icecitizensbank.org/