(DUBLIN) -- While ICE facilities frighten communities across the nation, Dublin officials were faced with a proposal from the Federal administration to convert the closed FCI Facility to an ICE Detention Center.
You read it right.
So did 43 Dublin residents who showed up at the town hall last night to oppose the notion of converting the former Federal Correctional Institution, Dublin, into an ICE detention facility.
Not only did they oppose, but they did so with fear, just as Ashley Johnson in Portland did, as reported in minutes provided by OpGov.ai yesterday.
"I do not want Dublin to become like North Carolina," Michael Yudzum, Dublin resident, said of the East Coast community fear our media outlet highlighted this morning.
The notion that the prison walls would shut down in 2024 and reopen to detain individuals again prompted citizens of all ages to confront elected officials in a "public outcry," according to the OpGov.ai platform, beginning with Dublin High School Sophomore Angel Lee, who presented a resolution from the Dublin Teachers Association (DTA) opposing an ICE facility at FCI Dublin.
The student's opening argument was that opening such a facility contradicts the Dublin Unified School District's mission to provide a safe and supportive environment.
(Photo: Bureau of Prisons, Dublin)
Dublin High School Junior Rulin Chen, a first-generation Chinese immigrant, emphasized how "an ICE facility would hurt people, create fear, dissuade community participation, damage the city's reputation, and scare away local businesses," according to the OpGov.ai platform. The student also highlighted FCI Dublin's water pollution, decaying infrastructure, and black mold as well as its previous record of sexual abuse in the facility.
Government intern Anna Zamboanga reads her late grandmother's diary describing her immigrant journey
Anna Zamboanga read from her late grandmother's diary about immigrating from the Philippines before Dublin elected officials last night. She emphasized her grandmothers e public service dream she follows as a local intern.
“She was a public servant to the community and an immigrant who had a dream,” she said of her grandmother, who was a 20-year account clerk in Almaidea County.
OpGov.ai reported each of the "striking majority of the 36 public speakers [who] uniformly expressed profound moral, ethical, and practical objections, drawing parallels to historical injustices," according to the platform, adding citizens shared "personal stories of immigrant fear and trauma," while also highlighting the history of abuse and unsafe physical conditions at the prison that closed in April 2024.
OpGov.ai meeting summary public comments that list up to 35 people
As a Christian minister and co-executive director of the Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Reverend Deborah Lee spoke out against expanding any ICE facility, nonetheless, one in Dublin.
“It’s so important that we not create tools and infrastructures for this administration," Lee said, surely suggesting President Donald Trump's involvement.
Earlier that morning, the reverend was in San Francisco and spoke about a Kenyan father apprehended by ICE.
Reverend Deborah Lee objects to the ICE facility proposed in Dublin at the Nov. 18 meeting
"He was the father of a five-year-old going to get his green card holding, and he was taken when his wife went to the bathroom, and he is now on his way to a detention center," Lee said.
The OpGov.ai platform picked up even more, reporting Lee “read letters from detainees in California City and Mesa Verde, detailing horrific conditions including lack of medicine, burning water, rotten food, solitary confinement, and constant fear.”
Tammy Costilucio voiced strong opposition to placing an ICE detention center at the former federal women's prison.
She highlighted the prison's closure due to 'extensive documented abuse' and warned that converting it to an ICE facility risks repeating those harms, citing histories of inadequate medical care and civil rights violations in other detention centers, according to the OpGov.ai platform, adding "she argued it does not reflect Dublin's diverse, welcoming, and humane values, and would bring negative economic and social costs, including increased traffic, security impacts, and jobs based on incarceration rather than growth.
"Finally, I urge this council to consider what this site could become instead a place for rehabilitation, housing education or public service," Costilucio said. "Anything that strengthens our community rather than instilling fear in it."
The AI platform picked up how Mayor Sherry Hu acknowledged her immigrant background, and so do I.
"Thank you, everyone, for coming today and also sharing your comments," the Hu said. " We truly appreciate your engagement, and we appreciate the time you have taken to voice your thoughts."
Hu motioned to the council, saying, "As you can see from our council, we have a very diverse council here," before she got more personal.
"I'm a first-generation immigrant," Hu said. "I came to this country when I was in my late 30s, in my almost 30s, and I understand what you're talking about and I feel how you feel."
Though the meeting addressed other business as noted in the agenda, the ICE issue dominated the dais. In the end, "the council ultimately responded to the intense public pressure by agreeing to agendize a formal resolution against the ICE facility, signaling a crucial shift towards a more direct and assertive stance," the OpGov.ai platform reports.
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