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Key insight: The account closures coincide with a presidential executive order targeting undocumented immigrants.
The account closures coincide with a presidential executive order targeting undocumented immigrants. What's at stake: Financial institutions are aggressively monitoring and auditing user activity under strict new compliance mandates.
Financial institutions are aggressively monitoring and auditing user activity under strict new compliance mandates. Expert quote: "The number of accounts that are suddenly closed is going through the roof." — Jim McCarthy, chairman of consulting firm McCarthy Hatch
More than 20,000 consumers reported seeing their bank accounts closed suddenly in recent months, according to a new analysis of complaint data, which experts believe is the result of financial institutions seeking to comply with the Trump administration's restrictionist immigration policies.
Between December 2025 and May of this year, 20,682 consumers filed complaints with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about being locked out of their bank accounts without explanation.
In May, President Trump signed an executive order directing federal regulatory agencies to issue guidance to banks on identifying informal work arrangements that undocumented workers may rely upon.
Bankers were pleased that the order stopped short of requiring the industry to verify the citizenship of account holders. Many bankers feared — and balked at — the possibility of having mandatory citizenship checks at teller desks.
Jim McCarthy, chairman of McCarthy Hatch, a consulting firm that analyzes CFPB complaint data, said banks have responded to the Trump administration's immigration policies by terminating accounts without explanation.
"The number of accounts that are suddenly closed is going through the roof," McCarthy said. He didn't provide comparisons with CFPB complaint data from recent years but said the account-closure trend appears to be accelerating.
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