Protest planned at notorious former Dublin prison over possible ICE plan to use as immigrant detention center
The protest was scheduled for Saturday at the former Federal Correctional Institution Dublin from noon to 2 p.m., organized by several activist groups.
While the prison is closed, there are still about 100 people working at the facility, and the union that represents them confirmed that officials with U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement toured the facility earlier this month.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons closed FCI Dublin last year following years of rampant sexual abuse of female inmates. Since 2021, at least eight employees have been charged with sexually abusing inmates at the prison which became known as the "rape club." Five employees pleaded guilty, and two were convicted at trial, including former warden Ray Garcia. The eighth employee's trial was pending.
In December, the BOP agreed to pay nearly $116 million to resolve lawsuits brought by more than 100 women who say they were abused or mistreated at the prison.
The protest will come on the same week that Bay Area Representatives Mark DeSaulnier (D-Walnut Creek) and Zoe Lofgren (D- San Jose) sent a letter voicing their opposition to reopening the prison.
The letter, addressed to Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, Acting Director of the Federal Bureau of Prisons William Lothrop, and Acting Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Caleb Vitello - outlined "the unsafe and hazardous conditions at the facility that necessitated its closure just months ago" as well as its "history of abuse of incarcerated immigrants" and "insufficient infrastructure for this population."
Also this week, both of California's U.S. senators - Democrats Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff - spoke out against plans to house immigrant detainees at BOP facilities. The senators were joined by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and other Senate Judiciary Committee Democrats in a letter to U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi denouncing plans by the BOP to detain immigrants as part of President Trump's mass deportation plan.
The letter from the senators questioned the bureau's "lack of answers on how to safely manage interactions between civil immigration detainees and incarcerated criminals, how BOP staff will receive sufficient training and resources to manage the civil immigrant detainee population, and whether BOP facilities could meet basic immigration detention standards."
The Trump administration hasn't publicly announced any move to house immigrant detainees in FCI Dublin. An ICE spokesperson didn't directly address FCI Dublin but didn't deny ICE is considering using the Dublin facility.
"U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's enhanced enforcement operations and routine daily operations have resulted in a significant number of arrests of criminal aliens that require greater detention capacity. While we cannot confirm individual pre-decisional conversations, we can confirm that ICE is exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements," the spokesperson said.
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