FCI Dublin Could House ICE Detainees: Report

DUBLIN, CA — The Trump administration may be considering a plan to send immigrants facing deportation to the recently shuttered FCI Dublin prison, according to reporting in The Los Angeles Times.

According to The Times, government officials conducted a “structural assessment” of the prison in July 2024. The American Federation of Government Employees, the union that represents federal prison workers, said in a letter to the Bureau of Prisons that they have learned that “the assessment has been provided to ICE for what appears to be the potential of ICE taking over the facility.”

The Bureau of Prisons confirmed in an email shared with The Times that while it is assisting ICE to house detainees, it cannot confirm any future use of the facility to house detainees. ICE told The Times that its recent activities, which have resulted in over 8,000 arrests nationwide, require greater detention capacity, “we can confirm that ICE is exploring all options to meet its current and future detention requirements.”

In April, FCI Dublin closed temporarily following numerous staff convictions of sexual abuse, an FBI raid and the appointment of a special master to oversee operations. The abrupt closure was fraught with issues, as staff tried to move 600 inmates to different locations around the country. Inmates were sent on long flights or bus rides, often without necessary food, sanitation, or medicine, to uncertain destinations, according to a report from the Bay Area News Group.

In a statement obtained by the Bay Area News Group, the Department of Justice wrote that an audit of the facility demonstrated the need for “considerable repairs,” and the inability to maintain necessary staffing due to the area’s high cost of living.

The prison came under significant scrutiny in February 2022, when the Associated Press ran a detailed exposé of a prison rife with sexual abuse that was known as the “rape club.” According to the article, numerous guards and administrators sexually abused multiple inmates, and threatened retaliation if inmates told or did not comply.

Since the article, the Bureau of Prisons pledged to change the prison, and lengthy investigations began. Eight former employees, including the warden and the chaplain, have been charged with sex crimes. Seven were convicted, and were sentenced to anywhere from five to seven years in prison.

In August 2023, eight inmates sued the Bureau of Prisons, alleging that it had been negligent in preventing sexual abuse. In March, the FBI raided the facility for still unknown reasons, and fired the new warden after less than three months on the job.

In December, the federal Bureau of Prisons informed Congress that it will permanently close FCI Dublin and deactivate six other minimum-security prison camps across the country, according to The Associated Press.