Activists protest reopening of notorious women’s prison as ICE facility

Hundreds of people have rallied against a proposal by the Trump administration to turn a closed-down Californian federal women’s prison notorious for sexual assault into an immigrant detention facility run by ICE.

Newsweek has contacted ICE for further comment outside of normal office hours.

Why It Matters

FCI Dublin has been in the spotlight due to allegations and convictions of prison staff for sexually abusing inmates. Reports of systemic misconduct led to investigations and calls for reform within the Bureau of Prisons.

FCI Dublin was permanently closed in December, months after more than 600 inmates were relocated, with the U.S. Bureau of Prisons citing poor facility conditions and staffing shortages. That same month, the bureau agreed to a $115 million settlement with 103 women who alleged sexual abuse at the prison.

The settlement—the largest in the agency’s history—came after a former warden and multiple staff members were convicted of assaulting inmates and other crimes.

However, the Trump administration is now considering reopening the facility, which was dubbed the “rape club,” as an ICE-run detention center.

What To Know

Protesters chanted “No ICE in Dublin” near the Federal Correctional Institution on Saturday.

“One of our key demands as survivors of the extreme abuse at Dublin has been for the permanent closure of the facility,” Aimee Chavira, an FCI Dublin survivor, said.

“The prison was closed for good reason, and should remain closed,” she added.

The protest followed speculation that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is considering repurposing the prison in Dublin for expanded immigrant detention, per a report from The Los Angeles Times.

ICE said in a statement that they are exploring options as they deal with a higher number of arrests, which requires more detention space and beds. Advocates organizing Saturday’s protest say that ICE has already toured the facility.

In California, private security companies such as GEO Group, CoreCivic, and Management and Training Corp operate immigrant detention centers.

Newsweek has previously revealed allegations of abuse at ICE-run detention centers in California that are operated by CoreCivic and Geo Group, including cases of sexual assault, medical neglect, and mistreatment of migrants. The companies previously assured Newsweek that they take their obligations very seriously and investigate any claims.

What People Are Saying

ICE said in a statement to Mercury News: “We can confirm that ICE is exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements… amid a significant number of criminal arrests.”

Ana, a sexual assault survivor at FCI Dublin said in testimony read at the protest: “After I was finally free from the hell of FCI Dublin, I was taken to another hell, a private ICE detention center. I am finally home with my children and trying to heal from what the U.S. government did to me. I don’t want anyone to live through what I lived through, in a BOP prison or an ICE jail. FCI Dublin must stay closed forever.”

Susan Beaty from the California Collaborative For Immigration Justice told ABC7: “The buildings themselves are falling apart, full of mold and asbestos and it’s also the site of years of heinous abuse, it’s become a symbol of sexual and physical abuse.”

What Happens Next

The Trump administration could reopen the facility to house immigrants as it struggles to find space to hold immigrants ahead of deportation.

The move will likely face further backlash from civil rights activists.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story includes discussion of sexual violence. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 1-800-656-4673 in the U.S.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text “988” to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.

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