ICE Pushes to Reopen Infamous ‘Rape Club’ Prison Despite Toxic, Dangerous Conditions

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is eyeing the dilapidated Federal Correctional Institution Dublin (FCI Dublin) in Northern California for use as a new immigration detention facility. Known among former inmates as the “Rape Club,” FCI Dublin was closed in 2024 after years of rampant sexual abuse and appalling living conditions came to light. Survivors and immigrant rights advocates are sounding the alarm, warning that reopening this facility would put countless immigrants at risk.

The prison, located about 40 miles east of San Francisco, was an all-women’s federal prison with a long record of unchecked sexual violence. At least nine correctional officers have been convicted or pleaded guilty to sexually abusing inmates. One officer, Jeffrey Wilson, was recently sentenced to over four years in prison for withholding seizure medication from a prisoner to coerce sex. Survivors like Aimee Chavira, now an organizer with the Dublin Prison Solidarity Coalition, have described horrific conditions including rodent infestations, brown drinking water, mold, and racist abuse from guards.

The physical state of FCI Dublin is equally dire. A 2,700-page environmental assessment commissioned by the Bureau of Prisons details crumbling infrastructure: cracked foundations, leaking roofs, clogged drains, and contamination from asbestos, lead paint, and other toxins. The site is an active cleanup zone with polluted soil and groundwater. Repairing the facility would cost tens of millions over the next decade. Yet despite these dangers, ICE toured the site with private prison contractors and is poised to take control through the federal property transfer process.

Advocates point out the timing is especially ominous as the Department of Homeland Security recently shuttered the Office of the Immigration Detention Ombudsman, the agency tasked with investigating abuse inside ICE facilities. This move removes a critical layer of oversight just as ICE seeks to expand its detention network.

Susan Beaty, senior attorney at the California Collaborative for Immigrant Justice, noted that community pressure had previously ended ICE contracts north of Bakersfield, limiting ICE’s reach in the Bay Area. Reopening FCI Dublin would reverse those gains and bring the “ICE terror” seen in other parts of California to Northern California communities.

Eighteen people have already died in ICE custody this year, many by suicide, according to tracking by The Prospect. Survivors like Chavira warn that if the government forces immigrants into FCI Dublin, the cycle of abuse and neglect will continue unchecked.

“This is not just a crumbling building,” Chavira said. “It’s a site of trauma, violence, and systemic failure. Reopening it for ICE detention is a death sentence for many.”

The call from advocates is clear: demolish the toxic facility, reclaim the land for community use, and end the ICE detention system that fuels abuse and death. With Congress still debating billions in ICE funding, the urgent demand to defund and dismantle ICE detention grows louder.

We will keep tracking this story as ICE moves to resurrect one of the most notorious prisons in the country—and what that means for immigrant rights and human dignity.