DUBLIN, CA – Community advocates and interfaith leaders from Buddhist, Jewish, Christian and Muslim traditions and those adversely impacted by the criminal legal and immigration detention and deportation systems, assembled outside the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) in Dublin – marked by “horrific sexual abuse, neglect, and state-sanctioned violence” – this past week.
The vigil, “From Harm to Liberation,” advocates for the permanent termination of FCI Dublin—also serving as a protest against the efforts to convert the institution into an immigration detention center.
The demonstration, held during the sacred practices of Ramadan, Passover, and Easter, symbolizes a moral and spiritual opposition against the recurring violence and trauma imposed by all structures of incarceration and deportation, the Interfaith Leaders and community members said in a statement.
Interfaith Leaders and community advocates for the incarcerated survivors at FCI Dublin, who they charge not only survived sexual abuse by the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) staff but who also faced inhumane conditions, retaliation and medical neglect.
Interfaith Leaders and community supporters said immigrants facing incarceration at Dublin were specifically targeted. BOP staff exploited their legal status—facing threats of being handed over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and being coerced with false promises that sex would help them remain in the United States, said the groups’ statement, adding the fight for justice for survivors of sexual abuse at FCI Dublin is deeply connected to the fight for justice for immigrant communities.
According to Interfaith leaders, despite facing Congressional opposition, its abusive history, and its critically deteriorated infrastructure, ICE is seemingly moving forward with the conversion of FCI Dublin from a BOP institution to an ICE institution.
As survivors of FCI Dublin have advocated, the institution must be permanently shut down, not converted into an immigrant detention center where individuals will undoubtedly continue to face violence and abuse.
“We cannot allow this injustice to continue.” – Interfaith leaders and community advocates
“We cannot allow this injustice to continue,” stated the Interfaith leaders and community advocates.
The demands of Interfaith leaders and community, include:
- Honor and uplift survivors of FCI Dublin
- Demolish and Permanently Close the FCI Dublin
- Reject all forms of ICE Detention in Dublin
- End the ongoing terror and criminalization of immigrant communities
- Return and Transform the land to meet community needs
- Reaffirm that places of worship and religious observance should remain sensitive locations, free from the reach of immigration enforcement.
