Here’s a report on recent protests of Bank Calumet in Munster, Indiana through 11/05.



It was IFIRE co-founder Greg Serbon’s idea to target a locally-owned regional bank rather than a Wells Fargo or Fifth Third Bank. Those larger financial institutions have been accepting the matricula card and courting illegal aliens for some time now. Bank Calumet had the distinction of being the first bank in NW Indiana to write a mortgage loan for an illegal and brag about it in the newspaper. Bank Calumet is a small, regional bank with locations in Illinois and Indiana.



We believe that the smaller banks feel the effects of our protests much more quickly and are more amenable to influence from the public.



I think the best thing we do is to hand out flyers that explain how the bank is breaking the law and why they are not following sound business practices. It gives people something to take home and read or to pass on to friends. It also contains our website and contact information.



The number of protesters has ranged from a high of 20 down to 6. Due to the flyers, we are still effective even with a small number of protesters.



One one occasion, the bank had advance warning that we were coming and had 2 city patrol cars in their parking lot to keep us off it. The public sidewalk was next to the drive up ATM. Some of us stood there with picket signs and offered flyers to customers when they stopped. If they indicated they were interested, we used a mechanical arm to hold the flyer out to them or drop it in their passenger side window. That way, we didn’t step on bank property and also tweaked them with our inventiveness.



One woman was driving in to the parking lot and asked me what was going on. I ran over with a flyer and told her that Bank Calumet loans money to illegal aliens. As we talked, she got madder and madder. She agreed with us. She said she had been on her way in to open a new account but now she would take her business elsewhere. She asked if I knew of any banks that don’t loan money to illegals. I told her she should ask first but that my bank does not presently do this. I told her that if Bank Calumet gets away with this, my bank and all the others will probably follow suit.



Mike is particularly persuasive. He got about 12 people to commit to closing their accounts that day. If they didn’t bank there but their relatives did, they promised to give them a flyer and tell their relatives to move their money. One young man said he was buying a house and that he had planned on using Bank Calumet but now that he knew they loaned money to illegals, he would not use them. We have had bank customers run across the lot as we were leaving in order to get a flyer. They have thanked us for what we are doing and have said it’s about time someone did something.



Debbie gets the most honks when she holds the American flag and our favorite sign which says, “Honk to stop illegal immigration.� Sometimes it gets really loud and we know the people inside the bank hear the rukus. Another signs say that this bank uses your money to aid and abet illegal aliens. Rosanna wore her Uncle Sam hat and brought a sign saying, “Take your money and run!� while Rick J. carried the “Don’t Tread on Me� back and forth.



One day, Greg Serbon closed his account while we were protesting. He posed for photos in front of the bank with the check they had given him. Michelle and Brian put the photo on their blog www.FreedomFolks.blogspot.com. FAIR has helped us by sending out notices of our protests to their email list for our area. This same day, a gentleman who had received their notice helped us protest. He said he had withdrawn his money as soon as he read the newspaper story about the bank loaning money to illegals. While we were there, one of his friends drove up and, I believe, also went in and closed his account. Unfortunately, they left before I could confirm it.



We get lots more honks, thumbs up and waves of approval than disparaging comments and single-finger waves. One time a car carrying what appeared to be Hispanics honked while flipping us off. The car right behind them carried Blacks who honked and laughed and gave us thumbs up. One Hispanic man in a big SUV had to circle the block several times just to give us the finger. A couple people have yelled, “Shame on you!� Excuse me, “Shame on us� for wanting our laws obeyed?



At the last protest, Steve brought his PA system. It was set up near the ATM and our “Don’t Tread on Me� flag. We played Ruben Medina’s CD with Matricula Madness and No More English Town. We also played Luca Zanna’s Minuteman CD. Someone in a passing car yelled to Steve, “Why don’t you get a job?� Steve took the microphone and calmly informed the screamer, “It’s Saturday.�



The bank people were melting down at our 4th protest. I don’t think they knew we were coming this time. We stopped on their parking lot momentarily to unload the PA system. The bank immediately called the police. An officer who we knew from previous protests and who has been friendly to us, drove up to check us out. He indicated we were perfectly within the law and we should carry on and not worry.



Later, Mike and I were standing near the bank building when a tall, youngish man came striding across the lot to enter the bank. I held out a flyer and asked, “Would you like a flyer, sir?� He was almost purple with rage and yelled, “Why don’t you people stop spreading hate!� and disappeared inside. We figured he must work for the bank in order to have such a strong response. Shortly after that, a customer drove up, parked and got out of his car to enter the bank. I asked him if he wanted a flyer and he did, so I met him halfway, stepping onto what is apparently the bank’s sidewalk. The same young man came flying back out of the bank and yelled that I couldn’t be on bank property so I backed up. I had time to ascertain that the customer had not heard that the bank was loaning money to illegals and that he disapproved of it and would let them know.



A few minutes later, the same young man came storming out of the bank like a bull elephant, charging towards the ATM drive up. I saw that one of our folks was trying to hand a flyer to a customer at the ATM. He was nearly out of control as he admonished us to stay off bank property. Despite his extreme aggressiveness, our guys maintained control.



As we were protesting, a real estate agent stopped and told Brian that her bank (also mine) will not write loans for illegals because they don’t want us to protest them. This is good news. I called my bank and spoke to a senior partner who desperately wants to avoid any negative publicity. They want their name kept out of this. Although my bank does not currently write loans for illegals because “the situation just hasn’t come up� they have no policy against it either. Nor do they have a policy against accepting the Matricula Card or ITIN. In fact, he didn’t know what a Matricula Card was. I will mail him information about all these things and encourage the bank to created a policy formally rejecting loans to illegals or accepting the matricula and ITIN as identification. I was hoping he would want to be “America’s bank� and that we could have their blessing to formally refer customers to his bank. He said he did not want to profit off another bank’s problems and wanted their name kept out of it. I said, “Let me se if I understand what you want. When a disgruntled Bank Calumet customer asks me if I know of a bank that does not give loans to illegals, I have been giving them your bank’s name. Do you want me to stop?� He said, “NO, NO! That’s perfectly fine.� He appreciated it and I could continue to do that. My letter tells him that I must, in good conscience, stop referring customers to his bank since they have no formal policy about loans to illegals. We are looking for a bank that is not ashamed to stand up and say they obey the law and they want law-abiding Americans and legal immigrants as customers.



All of us have been strategizing. Rick B. says this is our Fallujah and we need to take a stand here, with this Bank. Their behavior shows they’re injured. We will increase the frequency of our protests and we won’t stop because of cold weather. We are brainstorming creative ways to continue. We will use the PA system to talk to people from our cars and tell them what laws the bank is breaking. We may go to static cling or magnetic signs for the winter. For Christmas, we may hand out a flyer and a free gift in honor of Bank Calumet…a lump of coal.



Many thanks also to Keith, Bill, Tom, Joe, John, Gerry, Tony, Jeanne and Jennelle and others whose names I don’t know because they volunteered through FAIR. I can see your faces but I can’t recall your names right now.



I truly believe our presence is giving people the courage to take action. They see that they aren’t alone. They see that one person may not have a huge impact if they close their account but if dozens of us take action at the same time, we can make a difference.



Everyone who wants to participate should contact us through IFIRE’s contact page so we can put them on our list. We won’t always have time to send out formal alerts. We’d like to have people on our list who we can email on short notice and, if they can come help for an hour, we’d be glad to see them.



Email me if you want a copy of the flyer we distribute.

Cheree Calabro www.ifire.org