Activists are asking a federal judge to stop the transfer of inmates from a women's prison in Dublin.
The Bureau of Prisons earlier this week ordered the Federal Correctional Institution in Dublin shut down due to a history of sex abuse scandals and employee misconduct.
On Friday, a small group of people with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners, including activists, former inmates and families of those incarcerated, held a protest on the road that leads up to the prison. It's the very road the prison has been using to bus its female inmates off the property to transfer them to other facilities.
The coalition has filed a request for a temporary restraining order in federal court in Oakland, asking a judge block the transfers. It wasn't immediately clear Friday if the request had been granted.
"The restraining order is effectively an attempt on our side to keep them from making those transfers," said Emily Shapiro with the California Coalition for Women Prisoners.
The activists argue that FCI Dublin is not equipped to handle the transfer of inmates, some of whom are already at risk of medical injury, suicide and psychological stress due to possibly being moved father away from family.
The ordered prison closure came 10 days after a federal judge took the unprecedented step of appointing a special master to oversee the facility due to the history of sex abuse scandals and employee misconduct.
"We absolutely see this as the Bureau of Prisons trying to evade overall accountability," said Katie Dixon with the California Coalition for Women. "This is really a confusing traumatic time for the people inside.
In a court filing on behalf of the federal Department of Corrections, attorneys said on the day the closure was announced, 90% of the staff went home early. Since then, staffing levels have been so low, they've had to bring in employees from other prisons around the country.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. >Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
The head of the correctional officers union said his officers do not want the facility to close and he is upset the Bureau of Prisons has brought in 80 officers from other facilities to oversee the transfers.
"Under the watchful eye of the judge in the special master, we would've been a success story," said Edward Canales, union president for FCI Dublin officers. "But we were denied the opportunity because it's apparent that the Bureau of Prisons did not want any more transparency."
It is unclear how many of the 600 female prisoners have been transferred so far. The Bureau of Prisons on Friday would not provide NBC Bay Area with any more information and said the matter is pending before the courts.
