‘Keep ICE out of Dublin': Hundreds protest prospect of immigrant detention centers
Drivers passing by the family-friendly protest at Don Biddle Community Park honked their horns in support of the demonstrators holding signs that read, 'Keep ICE out of Dublin.' There were designated art tables where children could color, and attendees could pick up screen-printed posters that read, 'Hands off our immigrant neighbors.'
The protest was organized by Tsuru for Solidarity, ICE Out of Dublin Coalition, several labor unions and other organizations. Tsuru for Solidarity, a Japanese American social justice advocacy group that seeks to end detention sites, organized the rally in solidarity with immigrant communities and to protest detention centers from opening in the Bay Area, specifically the scandal-plagued former women's prison in Dublin that shuttered last year.
FCI Dublin made national headlines in 2023 after incarcerated people filed a class-action lawsuit alleging rampant sexual abuse by many of the prison guards. The U.S. Bureau of Prisons closed FCI Dublin in early December, citing poor facility conditions and staffing shortages. Later that month, the bureau announced that it will pay $115 million to 103 women who were sexually abused — the largest monetary settlement in the bureau's history, according to representatives of the prisoners.
Rumors of potentially reopening the site as an immigrant detention center began after ICE officials toured the facility in February. A bureau spokesperson told the Chronicle last week that 'there are no plans to reopen it.'
Still, Bay Area residents have been on edge about the possibility of the prison reopening as a detention center, prompting demonstrators to take to the streets to protest.
Stacy Suh, program director at Detention Watch Network and one of the speakers at Saturday's rally, told the crowd that immigrant women were targeted at FCI Dublin because of their immigration status.
'We do not want ICE in our backyard, not in Dublin, not in the Bay Area, and not anywhere,' Suh told the cheering crowd.
'Mass detention and deportation mean more and more and more Black and brown people are racially profiled because of the color of their skin,' Suh added.
Marissa Seko, of the Oakland-based Family Violence Law Center, said she has worked with survivors of the prison for 15 years. The prison's conditions described by the survivors reminded Seko, a Japanese American, of the conditions her grandmother endured while she was detained at an internment camp in Arizona.
Hundreds of thousands people of Japanese ancestry were incarcerated after President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066 and invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 during World War II. In March, President Donald Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act to detain Venezuelans.
'As a kid, my grandma and my great aunt told me stories about what it was like losing everything, how desolate, dusty and dirty the camp was,' Seko said. 'Supporting the survivors of FCI Dublin … reminded me of what my family endured during the internment.'
'The prison was closed for good reason and should remain closed,' she added.
Sharon Osterweil of Oakland said she attended the rally because, as someone of Jewish descent, 'we have a responsibility to stand up whenever any group is facing detention, concentration camps, kidnappings the way that we're seeing right now.'
'This is the time when elected officials need to stand up and actually represent people who elected them, which means not allowing ICE to expand, let alone keep operating the way they are,' she said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
7 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Conservative expert Heather Mac Donald explains 'lawlessness' cycle amid ICE pushback
Mac Donald explains how anti-ICE riots and protests in California tie to larger cultural developments in the United States.
UPI
9 minutes ago
- UPI
Japan's PM faces pressure as ruling coalition set to lose majority
Japan 's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech during the graduation ceremony for Japan's National Defense Academy in Yokosuka, Kanagawa-prefecture, Japan on Saturday, March 22, 2025. File Photo by Keizo Mori/UPI | License Photo July 20 (UPI) -- Japan's Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who assumed office in October 2024, could face mounting political pressure as his ruling coalition is projected to lose its majority during elections for the House of Councilors on Sunday. Ishiba acknowledged Sunday night to public broadcaster NHK that it would be difficult for the ruling coalition, an alliance of his Liberal Democratic Party and the Komeito Party, to secure the 50 seats in the House of Councilors election to maintain a majority. Before the election, the LDP-Komeito coalition together held 66 of 125 seats up for grabs this cycle, but exit polls conducted by NHK with other national news outlets showed they are expected to only win somewhere between 32 and 51 seats in the upper house. "The situation is severe, and we must accept it humbly and sincerely," Ishiba said in remarks to NHK. He added that his party has a "responsibility" to fulfill the promises it made to voters, including raising wages more than inflation and measures to combat population decline. The country's national legislature, called the Diet, is comprised of two houses: the House of Councilors, and the more powerful lower house, called the House of Representatives, which is responsible for selecting the prime minister. Ishiba became Japan's prime minister last fall after winning the ruling LDP's internal leadership election, replacing Fumio Kishida, who stepped down amid declining approval and scandal ties. Because the LDP held a majority in the lower house of parliament at the time, through its longstanding coalition with the Komeito party, Ishiba's victory secured his elevation to the country's top office. Days after taking power, he called a snap general election in October 2024 in an effort to strengthen his mandate. Instead, voters handed his party a historic defeat: the LDP-Komeito coalition lost its majority in the lower chamber for the first time in over a decade, forcing Ishiba to lead a fragile minority government. Now, Ishiba's leadership is facing another major test in Sunday's upper house election, where exit polls suggest the ruling coalition is also on track to lose control of the legislature's second chamber, which would make it difficult for the government to pass legislation. Under Japanese law, a minority government can continue to rule as long as it avoids a no-confidence vote in the House of Representatives and because Japan's opposition is often fragmented, it could be hard to oust a weakened ruling party. Still, it could lead to the possibility that Ishiba may choose to resign less than a year after becoming prime minister. Masataka Furuya, chairman of the Central Election Management Committee, released a statement before voting Sunday, encouraging the public to participate in the voting process. As of 7:30 p.m. local time, the nationwide voter turnout rote for the election was 29.9%, lower than the previous election three years ago. The back-to-back losses reflect growing voter dissatisfaction with the LDP under Ishiba, driven by economic stagnation, public frustration over immigration policy, and fatigue with the party's decades-long grip on power. "We hope that all voters will fully understand the significance of this regular election of the House of Councilors, actively participate in the voting, and exercise their precious vote with care," the office of the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications said in a statement Sunday. "We also ask that those involved in the voting and counting of the elections take strict and fair action and take the utmost care in managing and executing the elections."
Yahoo
37 minutes ago
- Yahoo
‘When the raids started, fear spread': LA Mayor Bass on Trump's deportation efforts
As President Donald Trump marks six months into his second term, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass told ABC News' "This Week" co-anchor Martha Raddatz that the administration's immigration crackdown has not only sparked protests, but fear among the city's residents. 'Los Angeles is a city of immigrants -- 3.8 million people, and about 50% of our population is Latino. And so when the raids started, fear spread,' Bass said. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids started in Los Angeles early June, prompting demonstrations that at times turned violent. While Trump's deportation push was initially said to be centered around undocumented immigrants with criminal records, an ABC News analysis of new data shows that in recent weeks, the Trump administration has arrested an increasing number of migrants with no criminal convictions. MORE: 4th detainee who escaped from New Jersey ICE facility located in Los Angeles: FBI Since then, farmers, business owners and immigrant advocacy groups have, like the mayor, said that many residents have been afraid to leave their homes for fear of deportation, affecting the workforce, food supply and the culture of the city. Bass said that the restaurant the interview took place in, located in the predominantly Latino Boyle Heights neighborhood of east Los Angeles, was typically bustling. But now, it — and the neighborhood overall — can feel like a ghost town. 'It's not just the deportation. It's the fear that sets in when raids occur, when people are snatched off the street,' Bass said. "Even people who are here legally, even people who are U.S. Citizens, have been detained. Immigrants who have their papers and were showing up for their annual immigration appointment were detained when they showed up doing exactly what they were supposed to be doing." She criticized ICE for agents for executing enforcement operations without their affiliation being prominently displayed. 'Masked men in unmarked cars, no license plate, no real uniforms, jumping out of cars with rifles, and snatching people off the street, leading a lot of people to think maybe kidnappings were taking place," Bass said. "How do you have masked men who then say, 'Well, we are federal officials,' with no identification?' Raddatz noted that administration says those agents do that because "there have been threats... [and] doxing." "We have a Los Angeles police department that has to deal with crime in this city every single day. And they're not masked. They stay here," Bass said. "The masked men parachute in, stay here for a while, and leave. And so you enter a profession like policing, like law enforcement? I'm sorry, I don't think you have a right to have a mask and snatch people off the street." Bass also touched on the continued presence of federal troops in the city. In response to those protests in early June, Trump deployed the National Guard and active-duty Marines to Los Angeles after protesters clashed with police. Some protestors threw rocks, fireworks and other objects at police, according to reports, before the arrival of federal troops. MORE: Judge to rule by next week on Abrego Garcia's detention as he awaits trial Trump signed a memorandum in June saying the National Guard was deployed to address lawlessness in Los Angeles. The California National Guard's 79th Infantry Brigade Combat Team posted on X that its objective was to protect federal protesters and personnel. In her interview with ABC News, Bass denounced the violence as 'terrible,' but said it did not "warrant military intervention." 'It did not warrant the Marines coming into our city with basically no real mission, but just to show a force,' Bass said. While the number of National Guard members in the city has been cut roughly in half, Bass said that their objective has not changed since they first arrived — and argued they're presence is still not necessary. 'If you drive by our two federal buildings, you will see them standing out there. But there's nothing going on in those federal buildings. So in my opinion, we are misusing taxpayers' dollars, and we are misusing our troops,' she said. While she disagreed strongly with the Trump administration's immigration agenda, Bass said she appreciated the help the administration gave Los Angeles during the massive January wildfires. 'Well, I will heap praise on the administration for the first six months in Los Angeles with the fires. If you ask me, is there anything that they have done good in terms of immigration? I don't know. I don't think so,' she said. "I think that the viewpoint has been punitive, has been let's make it as miserable as possible so that these people don't come." Bass said that she is still willing to 'work' with the White House, noting both the Olympics and World Cup coming to the city over the next few years. "How does this end?" Raddatz asked. "How do you see the next six months, the next two years for immigrants in your city?" 'Well, I am just hoping that this reign of terror ends. I'm hoping that the military leaves, because they were never needed here to begin with. I'm hoping that we can get back to normal. I'm hoping that the next time I come to this restaurant, that it will be filled, because people won't be afraid to come here,' Bass said.
