Hundreds protest proposal to reopen Dublin women's prison as ICE detention center
"If we as U.S. citizens went through horrific pain in there and retaliation, what could they do to the immigrants?"
DUBLIN, Calif. (KGO) -- On Saturday, hundreds rallied in Dublin near a former women's federal prison with a notorious past to protest a proposal by the Trump administration to convert it into an immigrant detention facility.
"No ICE in Dublin," chanted protesters who lined the sidewalk near Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin.
"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," said Susan Beaty from California Collaborative For Immigration Justice.
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A class action lawsuit filed by prisoner advocates led to the closure of the prison last year. But now, the Trump administration may be looking to reopen the facility as an ICE detention center. This group says no.
"To put people back in this physically unsafe place would be inhumane," Beaty said.
"FCI Dublin must remain permanently closed. We oppose the reopening of this site as any type of incarceration facility, where humans are caged," said Courtney Hanson from California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
"Nobody understands the trauma and abuse we went through was inhumane," said Aimee Chavira.
Chivara is a former inmate at the Dublin Prison, she says her treatment there was horrific.
"If we as U.S. citizens went through horrific pain in there and retaliation, what could they do to the immigrants?" asked Chivara.
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So far, there are few details about how FCI Dublin could be repurposed in the future and when it might happen.
U.S. Immigration and Customs enforcement officials have not responded to ABC7's request for comment yet but told the 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."
Those arrests are part of the nationwide immigration crackdown by the Trump administration.
"We can say the issue is urgent, it's going to happen very quickly. We know ICE has toured this facility more than once," said Hanson.
Activists say they plan more protests in the future.
