Photo Credit: PBS News / FCI Dublin
(DUBLIN, CA.) - Last year in December, the Dublin City Council unanimously passed a resolution which opposed turning a prison into an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center.
FCI Dublin operated as a federal women’s prison from 1974 to 2024 and had a history of staff misconduct and administration failures that drew local and national scrutiny.
The city learned through a Los Angeles Times report that ICE had assessed the property as a potential detention facility. This sparked public concern and led to protests across Dublin and the Tri-Valley.
In response, the city firmly stated that a detention facility at this site is inappropriate due to structural problems, the facility’s lengthy history of abuse and sexual assault, and negative community impacts.
The council heard from passionate speakers advocating against repurposing the facility.
“FCI Dublin was shut down because of the powerful survivor-led advocacy by incarcerated women who were subjected to systemic sexual abuse,” Program Director at the Detention Watch Network Stacy Suh said.
Photo Credit: City of Dublin, Stacy Suh
Residents further mentioned that voting against the repurposing of the facility sends a clear message that the community will not be complicit in brutal and inhumane treatment.
“Individuals have been injured, unlawfully detained, and denied due process,” resident and Tri-Valley Indivisible liaison Liz Schmidt said. “Families have been terrorized.”
Speakers expressed fear and warned that ICE detention centers increase violent arrests, racial profiling, family separation, and community harm, with horrible economic and social effects.
“Research has shown that ICE arrests are higher in areas with detention centers,” Suh said. “An 850-bed facility would result in 6.4 times higher rates of ICE arrest.”
With a drastically increased presence of ICE across the entire nation, arrests are becoming more and more common each day. Citizens are fearful of their lives and the lives of immigrants.
“I know people that are citizens that are walking around with their passports because they’re afraid,” longtime resident John Cameron said.
Cameron voiced the importance of remembering history in order to avoid repeating it.
“This is Gestapo stuff,” Cameron said. “You know what this is? This is Nazi stuff. This is 1933.”
Photo Credit: City of Dublin, John Cameron
Residents like Sherry Spain also mentioned using the site for other purposes such as mental health centers or shelters for battered women.
Council members expressed that the issue was deeply personal, particularly for immigrants and children of immigrants. Members emphasized that terror, discrimination, and a lack of trust caused by detention facilities harms the community.
The resolution was praised as well-drafted, fact-based, and symbolic of Dublin’s demographics and values, noting that immigrants have constantly and significantly played a huge role in making the city thrive.
It was noted that poor communication from federal agencies like the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), General Services Administration (GSA), and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) increased concern and led to the city taking a formal public stance.
While the resolution does not control federal decisions, it provides a clear statement on Dublin’s stance on the issue and eases the minds of worried residents.
“This resolution may fall on deaf ears at the federal level, but at least our residents will feel the council has taken a stand,” councilmember Michael McCorriston said.
Fast forward to the city council meeting which took place on Jan. 13, longtime resident and owner of Guns Unlimited Advance Firearms Training Mike Grant criticized the council for not taking action against anti-ICE protesters.
Photo Credit: City of Dublin, Mike Grant
“You guys did a resolution condemning or basically not opening up the prison,” Grant said. “And this did nothing but stir up and cause violence.”
Grant said that the council has sent a signal to the protestors saying that it's okay to disrupt police and ICE operations.
He referenced the shooting of Renée Good in Minneapolis in which, according to him, the mayor had “stirred the pot” which caused “a lady to get shot for doing something stupid, trying to run over an ICE officer.”
He proceeded to warn the people who were following federal agency officers around from motels that they would be searched for soon.
“That was told to me last night by a few guys that I know in the agency,” Grant said. “So you should probably think about the words that you will need to say- telling people to stand down and not interfere with ICE operations. I'm sure you would agree that we don't need another ICE agent attacked, or he [will need] to defend himself and shoot somebody in Dublin.”
Grant had spoken at the meeting last December, challenging the people who said they were living in fear due to the potential of ICE cracking down in Dublin.
“I’d like to address these comments that I keep hearing about living in fear,” Grant said. “This council should ask each one of these complainants, did you report this to the Dublin PD with your concerns about living in fear?”
He attacked the legitimacy of public input by stating that Dublin has 72,000 residents, of which only a small number of complaints came from local Dublin residents, with some of the emails and speakers not being actual residents.
“Well, I called Dublin PD. I called the Pleasanton PD and the Livermore PD. Not one complaint has ever been filed about any of that stuff.”
At the city council meeting in January, Grant continued on the resolution regarding the prison.
“ICE doesn't need that federal prison at all,” Grant said. “They have a military base called Camp Parks right over there. The NCNCO Academy will be closing in April. This frees up lots of space for law enforcement.”
Speaker Angela Tucker brought up concerns on traffic safety for the Safeway corner due to the protests, reiterating worry over people crossing and being close to the roadway.
“I drive a very large truck, and people with the placards, they're inches away from the truck when you are in the right hand lane,” Tucker said. “I'm worried that if somebody slips, goes under the wheels, what happens then? What happens to liability?”
Tucker suggested protective measures like barriers to create more order among protesters and help improve the flow of traffic.
The debate over the former FCI Dublin site highlights the tension between community values, public safety, and federal policies. The city council’s resolution may not have the authority to prevent federal agencies from repurposing the facility, but it does reflect concerns of Dublin residents’ and what they desire for their city.
As leaders and residents continue to voice their perspectives, whether it’s opposition to ICE or concerns over traffic, the discussion represents a nationwide challenge of aligning federal initiatives with the well-being and security of the communities that they affect.
“There was no reason for you guys to get involved in this, but you guys are [in] the spotlight now,” Grant said.
Read about ICE in other stories from OpGov.ai:
Portland ICE Tension Escalates
More than Fourty Residents Protested against Proposed ICE Detention Center in Dublin
To add to or correct any information in this report, please email me at yashi.s@lead4earth.org or leave a comment below.
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