US (AMERICANS FOR FINANCIAL REFORM) : BIG BANKS MUST REJECT TRUMP’S IMMIGRANT DEBANKING SCHEME.

 

Donald Trump is trying to turn America’s banking system into another weapon for his mass deportation agenda. His administration is directing federal regulators to pressure banks into scrutinizing customers’ immigration status, placing greater suspicion on people who use Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers, and expanding financial surveillance of immigrant communities. ITINs are lawful identification numbers issued by the federal government so people without Social Security numbers can pay taxes and comply with federal law. Trump’s Treasury Department now wants banks to consider ITIN use as a potential risk factor when customers open accounts or apply for credit. The administration also wants lenders to consider the possibility that an immigrant borrower could lose work authorization, wages, or the ability to remain in the country. That opens the door to denying mortgages, credit cards, and other financial services based on immigration status instead of a person’s actual ability to repay. JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and U.S. Bank have enormous power over whether this attack succeeds. Their CEOs must reject discrimination against immigrant customers and refuse to turn their employees into immigration enforcement agents. Tell the CEOs of America’s five biggest banks: Reject Trump’s attempt to debank immigrants and keep immigration enforcement out of our banks. SIGN & SEND Access to a bank account allows people to deposit paychecks, pay bills, save for emergencies, establish credit, and build a stable economic life. Driving immigrant families out of banks will push more money into check cashers and shadow banking companies that charge higher prices and operate with weaker protections. Trump’s proposal is so dangerous that opposition reaches across the political spectrum. The libertarian Cato Institute has warned against turning banks into “citizenship police,” arguing that immigration enforcement through financial institutions would expand government surveillance, undermine privacy, and create costly new burdens for banks and people. Frontline bank employees should never be ordered to guess whether a person belongs in this country. They should never be pressured to treat a lawful taxpayer identification number as evidence of wrongdoing. And they should never be forced to choose between serving their customers and advancing Trump’s deportation agenda. The five biggest banks must publicly commit to protecting immigrant customers, refusing immigration-based discrimination, preserving lawful access to accounts and credit, and keeping citizenship verification beyond existing legal requirements out of their branches. Tell JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, and Goldman Sachs to reject Trump’s discriminatory debanking scheme now. Let’s keep Trump’s deportation machine out of our banks. - Ericka. Ericka Taylor (she/her) Co-Executive Director Americans for Financial Reform. Support the campaign

Paid for by Americans for Financial Reform