What the abandoned FCI Dublin looks like after 2-year closure

DUBLIN, Calif. - The all-women's prison in Dublin has been closed for roughly two years after the Bureau of Prisons shut it down following a national scandal where 10 correctional officers were charged with sexually abusing the women incarcerated there. 

Empty buildings

What we know:

Since April 2024, when the BOP announced that the 600 or so women would be either transferred to prisons elsewhere around the country or let go on compassionate release, the buildings have been mostly empty, and the employees have since been told they must work elsewhere. 

FCI Dublin opened in 1974. It became an exclusively female prison in 2012 and was one of five federal prisons for women in the United States.

Govt. says no ICE center 

What's next:

While some have speculated that the Trump administration will turn the abandoned federal property at 5701 8th Street in Dublin into an immigration detention center, ICE and the Department of Homeland Security have told KTVU on multiple occasions that they have no plans to do so.

Critics are skeptical of the federal government's declarations, and the Dublin City Council and the Alameda County board of supervisors have presented symbolic resolutions saying they oppose transforming the old FCI Dublin into any kind of immigration detention center or correctional facility. 

Just what will become of the abandoned 87 acres of property off Interstate Highway 580 by Dougherty Road is unclear.

The buildings and property are currently undergoing an environmental review before deciding what's next. 

Mold, asbestos

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General conducted an audit of FCI Dublin, acknowledging that the buildings were contaminated with asbestos and mold. The pricetag to remediate this situation in 2021 was nearly $50 million, according to the report. 

On Tuesday, a KTVU crew, for the first time, was able to freely roam about the property, showing fallen trees, barbed wire fencing, geese strolling about and empty buildings. 

Here's what it looked like: