By Ed F.
On Saturday, Indivisible East Bay and Tri-State Indivisible joined protestors organizing to stop ICE from opening an immigrant detention center at the FCI Dublin Prison. The protest was organized by a broad coalition led by the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition, California Coalition for Women Prisoners, California Collaborative for Immigration Justice, Dignity Not Detention, Interfaith Movement for Human Integrity, Tsuru for Solidarity, Kehilla Community Synagogue Immigration Committee, and Detention Watch Network.
The women’s prison was permanently closed in 2024, after a survior-led campaign to expose sexual abuse by prison officials, and dangerous living conditions due to asbestos, black mold, sewage leaks and water contamination.
Saturday’s protest is just the beginning of this campaign. This coalition has vowed to continue the fight until the facility is bulldozed.
Susan Beaty, an attorney with California Collaborative for Immigration Justice, said, “As a community in the Bay Area, we don’t want ICE in our backyard. When ICE doesn’t have a place to cage people, there are less raids and less arrests. We are saying no, we don’t want ICE detention in our community, and we want ICE out of the Bay Area and out of California.”
KTVU Fox News covered the event, estimating the crowd to be 500 strong. ICE did not respond to KTUV requests for information about plans for the FCI Dublin Prison.
The San Francisco Chronicle interviewed Kendra Drysdale, who was formerly incarcerated at FCI Dublin. Drysdale said that many women who were held in the facility are still dealing with physical health problems from mold, water and asbestos in the structure, as well as the trauma of sexual abuse. “It’s horrendous, and we’re still going through it.”
