Every child deserves to be tucked into a safe bed to sleep. But for-profit prison and detention corporations are profiting off taking parents away from children and putting families behind bars. It’s time for Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase to stop financing Geo Group and and CoreCivic, two of the largest for-profit prison and detention corporations. Whether you're paying to incarcerate families, or to lock parents away from their families, this is not who we strive to be as a nation.

There can be no business in abuse.

*Sign on here to let us know you’re interested in dropping off a letter, and a small item relating to children sleeping like a pacifier or stuffed toy that you might have in your home, to your local Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase bank branch on September 26th, urging them to stop financing Geo Group and Core Civic.  It’s easy. We’ll give you all the info you need. It only takes 5 minutes and will have a big impact.

Why target Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase, and private prison companies?  

Private prison companies are not only making huge profits from the incarceration and detention of people, including children and people who can’t afford bail in local jails, they are also a huge political force in lobbying for the legislation and policies that criminalize immigrants and communities of color in the U.S. [1][2]  But private prisons are not the only ones making money here. Two of the private prison industry leaders, CoreCivic and GEO Group, depend on debt financing from Wells Fargo, JPMorgan Chase and other banks to conduct their day-to-day business operations, finance new facilities, and acquire smaller companies. This is a big deal. An analysis of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings over the past 10 years, shows that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase have played a leading role in financing these debts.[3][4]

As consumers, we have the power to stop this!  

*CLICK HERE  to find out more about how you can deliver a letter, and a small item relating to children sleeping like a pacifier or stuffed toy, to your local Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase bank branch on September 26th.  

In order to let other consumers know what’s going on and build a wave of change, take a picture on the way into the bank when you drop off your letter, then post it on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram with #FamiliesBelongTogether to help spread the word that there should be no business in abuse.  (We’ll send you more easy instructions on how to do this delivery, including a draft script for what to say, when you click through to say you’re interested.)

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase need consumers like you and me in order to keep their businesses afloat, so our voices are powerful.  We can demand that Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase stop financing private prisons, and thereby help stop the construction of new private prisons to detain more immigrant children and families, stem the political power of private prison lobbyists, and send a warning message to other banks that consumers will not tolerate the use of their deposits to finance the private prison industry.

Imprisoning children with families is still imprisoning children.  And, making profits off of a person’s incarceration is wrong. It must stop.

Studies have shown that detention, even with families, is traumatic for children and can have long term health and developmental effects. [5]  It’s time for everyone who cares about our democracy and the future direction of our country to use our voices, our votes, and the power of our pocketbooks to fight against human rights abuses in the name of immigration enforcement.  

*Don’t forget to sign up to find out more about how you can deliver a letter, and a small item relating to children sleeping like a pacifier or stuffed toy, to your local Wells Fargo or JPMorgan Chase bank branch on September 26th.  

Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase MUST stop financing pain.  There are alternatives to detention that are not only more compassionate for children and families, but also more fiscally responsible. In FY18, the Department of Homeland Security estimated that it cost on average $319.37 dollars a day, per family member, to incarcerate a family on the border. On the other hand, with the Family Case Management Program, (which the Trump administration terminated in 2017), children and their parents were provided with individualized family service plans, and had a proven 100% success rate ensuring the family attend their hearings, and it cost only $36, per family, per day![6]

It can be easy to forget how much consumer power we have together, but all of our power together adds up. It’s time to use that consumer power to protect children, women, and families who are being harmed by Trump’s destructive immigration policies.  This is not the nation we seek to create. We can and must do better -- and part of doing better starts with telling Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase they MUST stop the financing of CoreCivic and GEO Group. 

Together we are a powerful voice for all families!  Let’s use that power for good.

[1] For-Profit Family Detention: Meet the Private Prison Corporations Making Millions by Locking Up Refugee Families

[2] How For Profit Prisons Have Become The Biggest Lobby No One Is Talking About

[3] The Banks That Finance Private Prison Companies 

[4] Who Is Profiting From Incarcerating Immigrant Families 

[5] Separating Kids From Parents Can Cause Psychological Harm. But Experts Say Detaining Them Together Isn't Much Better  

[6] The Real Alternatives to Detention