By ZACH LAIRD, InDepthNH.org

PLYMOUTH, NH — A small group of activists rallied at Citizens Bank at 20 Highland Street on Thursday, calling for the organization to end its financial relationship with CoreCivic and the GEO Group, companies that build and operate detention centers for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

Hosted by Central New Hampshire Indivisible, a grassroots organization that says it works to preserve democracy through peaceful demonstrations, the protest took place the same day as the company’s annual shareholders meeting at its headquarters in Rhode Island. CoreCivic, based out of Brentwood, Tenn., has 82 facilities throughout the U.S. listed on its website, where more than 500 ICE officials are stationed. The GEO Group, headquartered in Boca Raton, Florida, has 51 facilities in the U.S. and three international facilities, per its website. Citizens Bank has played a key role in helping the corporations access more than $2 billion in funding, according to de-icecitizensbank.org.

Grace Garvey, Co-Leader of Central New Hampshire Indivisible, explained that there’s been an effort to call on the bank to end its relationship with the corporations. A map on de-icecitizensbank.org shows dozens of similar events spanning New Hampshire to Michigan.

“People and their protesting is really powerful. Avelo (Airlines) stopped doing the deportation flights because there was so much pushback from the public about the way detainees were being treated, the way the government was going about tracking down people who were not here —  in their opinion — legally… We think that this is an opportunity for the people to speak out, and say, ‘We don’t agree with this funding decision by Citizens Bank, and we’re going to push back,’” Garvey said.

Tufts University Prison Divestment noted in an article that CoreCivic and the GEO Group together manage over half of the private prison contracts in the U.S., and that in 2017 the two companies earned a combined revenue of more than $4 billion dollars.

The Brennan Center for Justice, which is an independent, nonpartisan law and policy organization that works to reform, revitalize, and defend America’s democracy and justice, reported in October 2025 that CoreCivic pulled in a total revenue of $538.2 million during the company’s second quarter, which was nearly a 10% increase from the previous year. It also noted that the GEO Group reported revenue of $636.2 million, adding it was a 5% increase from the previous year.

Garvey said that Central New Hampshire Indivisible is partnering with other local advocacy groups to build awareness and put demands on Citizens Bank. She said there will also be advocacy groups stationed at the bank’s Rhode Island headquarters to protest peacefully during the annual shareholders meeting.

“The whole idea of having these detention centers — and they’re planning them all over the country — they are being financed by Citizens Bank, in part, and this is something that I want people to know and to be aware of, so they can decide where’s the best place to put their money… The way that human beings and children are being treated in our society today is unconscionable,” said Ellen Broderick of Campton, who attended the protest.

Citizens Bank did not return requests to comment.

Protest attendee Judy Garwood of Campton said her goal behind participating was to help spread awareness, adding that many people had no idea that Citizens Bank was funding immigration operations.

Another attendee, Jennifer Foley of Thornton, said that she recently returned from a trip to Washington, D.C., where she had taken her children to the Holocaust Memorial Museum. She said she saw many similarities between what happened then and what’s happening now.

“So many of the children there were like, ‘Why isn’t anybody doing anything to stop what’s happening?’ The pictures they showed in the museum were so similar to what’s happening today… It’s just heartbreaking and disgusting,” Foley said.

Ryan Gustin, senior director of public affairs for CoreCivic, said in an interview that the company values the relationships it has with its financial partners, and that “while we don’t provide specifics about financial relationships beyond what we provide in our publicly available financial disclosures, it’s important to note that CoreCivic plays a limited but important role in America’s immigration system.”

“We have a long-standing, zero-tolerance policy not to advocate for or against any legislation that serves as the basis for — or determines the duration of — an individual’s detention,” Gustin said. “CoreCivic does not enforce immigration laws, arrest anyone who may be in violation of immigration laws, or have any say whatsoever in an individual’s deportation or release,” he said.

Gustin said CoreCivic also does not know the circumstances of individuals when they are placed in its facilities. He said the company’s responsibility is to “care for each person respectfully and humanely while they receive the legal due process that they are entitled to.”

In a previous interview with InDepthNH.org in February, Strafford County Board of Commissioners Chairman George Maglaras said approximately 150 ICE detainees were being held at the Strafford County Department of Corrections — the only county jail in the state to house ICE detainees — though he added that number can fluctuate slightly.

While former Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem ultimately scrapped plans for an ICE detention facility in Merrimack, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin has since refused to rule out the future possibility of similar plans returning elsewhere in the state.

According to its website, all of the ICE facilities operated by the GEO Group have a “long-standing record providing high-quality, culturally responsive services in safe, secure, and humane environments that meet the needs of the individuals in the care and custody of federal immigration authorities.”

The company also noted that its ICE facilities abide by strict national performance-based standards, which were promulgated by the federal government in 2011 and updated in 2016. A spokesperson for the group could not be reached for comment.