Faith Leaders Protest Reopening Federal Prison in Dublin as ICE Detention Center

ICE Out of Dublin Campaign (Pleasanton Weekly: Peg Hunter)

Under the new federal administration, moves are being made to re-commission FCI (the Federal Correction Institution – Dublin) as an ICE detention center. This would support the federal government’s deportation agenda, and a private company would be hired to run it. This alarming scenario led to a vigil being held on April 16th.

The vigil was organized by the Interfaith Movement 4 Human Integrity and co-sponsored by the California Coalition for Immigrant Justice. Our local protest was one of 20 vigils nationwide in a Communities Not Cages day of action organized by Detention Watch Network.

To learn more, see this article recently published in the Pleasanton Weekly.

FCI Dublin was closed in April of last year, following findings of poor physical conditions and a “rape club” culture among staff of the women’s facility.

Although ICJJ’s focus is primarily on the Alameda County jail and judicial system, ICJJ members have been following actions related to FCI Dublin. Last year, we joined a protest against both the horrible conditions in that facility - including sexual abuse of the women in custody – and the government’s sudden transfer of all the women out of that prison to avoid pending court oversight of the facility.

We were excited to learn that two class action lawsuits settled in December 2024 led to the largest award ever based on sexual abuse claims by incarcerated people. The suits also secured a promise of reforms in women’s prisons across the country. The reforms are being overseen by Alameda County’s retired Chief Probation Officer, Wendy Still.

This Spring, we attended the trial of the eighth and final FCI employee charged with perpetrating sex crimes on those in custody. The trial ended in a hung jury. Six other defendants had been convicted, and the 7th committed suicide before his trial.