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The city of Livermore is seeking ways to oppose the potential opening of an immigration detention center at the shuttered federal prison in Dublin in conjunction with the neighboring city and wider region.
The low-security women’s prison — dubbed Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin — closed during 2024 due to prison guards sexually abusing incarcerated women and other issues such as improper oversight and infrastructure problems. But rumors broke last year that FCI Dublin was being eyed for reuse as an immigration detention center under the Trump administration.
While FCI Dublin’s potential conversion was not on the Livermore City Council agenda June 8, about 15 people spoke out against the facility’s reuse during the public forum portion of the meeting. They asked the council to introduce a resolution at a future meeting to oppose the potential use of FCI Dublin as an ICE facility.
The council responded by directing city staff to confer with representatives from the city of Dublin and Alameda County for guidance on how Livermore can best support the jurisdictions in rejecting the facility’s reopening. The council also directed staff to determine what actions the city itself can take to ensure its residents feel safe.Â
“Make sure we are doing all we can to really push back against this in conjunction with our partners,” Councilmember Evan Branning told staff during the meeting
Dublin city officials have written multiple letters opposing the reuse of FCI Dublin to the Department of Homeland Security and federal Bureau of Prisons.Â
Additionally, the Dublin City Council and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors have each passed a resolution against the reuse of FCI Dublin for any purpose including its use as an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facility. When residents made a similar request of the Pleasanton City Council last month, a 3-2 council majority opted against bringing back a potential opposition resolution for consideration, reasoning such a debate wasn’t a Pleasanton city priority.
Bureau of Prisons Director William K. Marshall III told Dublin City Manager Colleen Tribby last November that the bureau does not intend to reopen the facility and ICE has not indicated that it would utilize the facility.
Fast-forward to May and the Bureau of Prisons published a 2,731-page draft environmental assessment detailing issues at the facility including asbestos, lead-based paint, mold, roof deterioration and radioactive concerns.
The report was geared toward studying the permanent closure of FCI Dublin, but it was deemed by many as being the first step in repurposing the facility.
Earlier this month, over a dozen members of Congress urged the Bureau of Prisons in a letter to permanently close and demolish the facility amid environmental hazards, unresolved contamination concerns and the “long history of staff sexual misconduct at the facility.”
Signatories included U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff, and U.S. Rep. Mark DeSaulnier (D-Concord), who represents FCI Dublin’s hometown.
Members of Congress also called for additional environmental review and mitigation planning, such as the analysis of “reasonably foreseeable post-closure outcomes, including prolonged vacancy, transfer, redevelopment, demolition, or repurposing of the facility”.Â
However, FCI Dublin is not “currently included” in the agreement between ICE and Bureau of Prisons that allows the detainment of immigrants at bureau institutions throughout the country, ICE senior official and acting director Todd M. Lyons said in a letter March 27 to Tribby.
During the public forum in Livermore on June 8, about a dozen people urged the council to take action against the potential reopening of FCI Dublin as an ICE detention center.
Among the speakers was emergency physician Douglas Yoshida, who said his father was incarcerated in a Japanese-American internment camp as a teenager as a result of executive order under then-President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Yoshida likened the World War II-era interments to the roundups and deportations occurring without due process under the Trump administration.
After being released, his father was drafted into the military and proved his loyalty to the country that “stripped him of his rights”, he said.
“As his son, I’m honoring his memory by refusing to remain silent while history repeats itself,” Yoshida said. “I ask each of you to demonstrate that same patriotism by standing against policies that repeat the worst chapters of our past.”
Yoshida also said he was one of the medical professionals to care for women who were raped at FCI Dublin.
“This legacy cannot continue,” he said.
Also in the lineup of those opposing the reuse of FCI Dublin was Livermore school board Trustee Christiaan VandenHeuvel.
Students fear for their families and may stay home because a parent is afraid to drive them, he explained.
VandenHeuvel pointed to the city’s statement of inclusion and respect as well as the police department’s stance that everyone should be able to ask for help.
“That’s who we want to be and a detention center down the road would push against that,” he said.
When it came time for council reports, Branning directed staff to convene with Dublin and county officials on the issue.
Councilmember Kristie Wang added that staff should independently explore the city’s options.
“Even though we don’t have a federal prison here, we have a lot of immigrants and undocumented immigrants,” Wang said.
As an immigrant herself, Wang said she has been carrying her passport everywhere since early last year. “I understand deeply the fears of our community,” she added.
“I don’t want to take action that ultimately has no legal teeth, but could actually draw attention to ourselves,” she explained.
Instead, Wang said she seeks “effective action”.Â
Councilmember Ben Barrientos connected with Wang’s experience, as he also carries his passport.
“I sympathize with people,” he said. “I’m brown, and that’s what they look for.”
Mayor John Marchand and Branning agreed with the direction to staff.
“City staff are reaching out to representatives from the City of Dublin as well as federal representatives to inquire about meaningful ways to express the Livermore community’s concerns about the potential reuse of FCI Dublin as an ICE detention facility,” city officials told Livermore Vine on June 11.
“At this time, we do not have any additional updates to share. Staff will provide an update when more information becomes available,” they added.
