Rep. Ritchie Torres to Introduce Legislation Protecting Financial Privacy and Preventing Banks from Collecting Immigration Status

Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) has announced that he will introduce legislation prohibiting federally regulated banks from collecting, maintaining, or disclosing customers’ citizenship or immigration status as a condition of providing financial services. The legislation comes in response to reports that the Trump administration is weighing executive action that would require banks to verify the citizenship status of current and prospective customers, effectively turning financial institutions into instruments of immigration enforcement.

Rep. Torres’ bill would:

• Prohibit federally regulated banks from collecting, maintaining, or disclosing customers’ citizenship or immigration status as a condition of providing financial services.
• Prevent federal banking regulators from requiring or pressuring financial institutions to gather such information through rulemaking, guidance, or supervisory action.

The bill is designed to protect financial privacy, ensure equal access to banking services, and prevent the weaponization of the financial system against immigrant communities. Under current law, banks must comply with anti-money laundering statutes and customer identification requirements, but they are not required to collect or verify citizenship information. Industry leaders have raised concerns that a new mandate would be burdensome, legally questionable, and harmful to financial inclusion. Rep. Torres’ legislation would ensure that access to basic financial services does not depend on citizenship status and that banks remain focused on their core mission: serving customers and maintaining financial stability.

Bill text will be released upon introduction.