A 32-year-old Chinese man died while in ICE custody in Clearfield County, prompting immigrants’ rights activists to renew their calls for the facility where he was being held to be shut down.
According to ICE, Chaofeng Ge was pronounced dead Tuesday after he was found hanging by the neck and unresponsive in the shower. He had been in ICE custody for five days and was awaiting an immigration hearing.
A coalition of organizations and advocates held an online press conference Thursday, saying the Moshannon Valley Processing Center is the site of human rights abuses and should be closed. They say those violations include physical abuse, insufficient medical care and excessive use of solitary confinement.
Bobbi Erickson, co-founder of Indivisible: Mayday, which covers the counties in Pennsylvania’s 15th district, was one of the speakers.
“These atrocities aren’t happening in some far away community. They’re happening right here in our own backyard," Erickson said.
The Geo Group Inc. owns the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, which operates as an ICE detention center through a contract with Clearfield County. With 1,876 beds, it is the largest immigration detention center in the Northeast.
Two county commissioners expressed sadness about what happened, but said they are not ready to end the contract. Commissioner Dave Glass said he had reservations about the contract when they signed off on it in 2021, but the office hasn’t received concrete complaints.
“I've heard people say, ‘Well, they don't feed them right.’ And I say, ‘Well give me an example. Give me something solid.’ I haven't heard that," he said. "So I'm not saying those aren't valid, but I really would like somebody who has a relative in there, if this is happening to come forward and talk to us about it.”
The commissioners said they plan to visit the facility.
According to Pennsylvania state police, during the investigation into Ge’s death, a handwritten note was found. The death was determined be a suicide and no foul play was found.
Ge had pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges of accessing a device issued to another who did not authorize use and conspiracy to commit the same. According to the Lower Paxton Township Police, Ge was arrested in January for reportedly trying to fraudulently use a credit card at a CVS in Dauphin County and being in possession of stolen credit card numbers.
