Rep. Chu Responds to FBI Raid of Federal Prison in Dublin, CA

PASADENA, CA — This week, the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) conducted a raid on the federal correctional institution (FCI) in Dublin, California. FCI Dublin Warden Art Dulgov was replaced by regional Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Supervisor Nancy T. McKinney, and three other top managers were removed from their positions by the BOP.

Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) released a statement in response:

“I am gratified the FBI and BOP have taken significant and appropriate actions to hold officials accountable at the federal correctional facility in Dublin. A recent FBI investigation of the facility shed light on a toxic culture enabling years of sexual misconduct by employees, with 5 pleading guilty to associated charges and 2 convicted by juries of everyday Californians. Every American, in every interaction they have with the criminal justice system, must be guaranteed access to basic human rights and dignity, including freedom from abuse.

“Similarly, at a visit to the federal women’s prison in Victorville, CA, I listened to firsthand accounts of the struggles of women inmates within our federal correctional facilities faced in accessing necessary, critical medical care and heard stories of the retaliation they faced when reporting constitutional rights violations. I urge the FBI and BOP to continue rigorous evaluations and investigations of federal prisons to ensure women’s human and constitutional rights are respected and apply pertinent accountability measures at all levels of command.

“I'll continue pressing in Congress for long-term solutions to understaffing and unconstitutional conditions within all federal prisons. For example, as a result of my experiences at Victorville and follow-up conversations with BOP officials, Rep. Obernolte  and I introduced the bipartisan H.R. 6711, the Prison Staffing Reform Act, to direct the BOP to do a top-to-bottom review of understaffing issues across the agency. The inability to maintain proper staff ratios means serial abusers are kept on prison payrolls, subjecting incarcerated women in particular to sexual violence and harassment. Congress must ensure the Bureau of Prisons fully protects everyone in their custody and implement an accountability structure when facilities violate the constitutional rights of incarcerated people.”

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