Clearfield County PA — Fight to Close Moshannon Valley as GEO Contract Expires
The Fight
Clearfield County (FIPS 42033) is the legal middleman in the contract that keeps the Moshannon Valley Processing Center — the largest ICE detention facility in the Northeast (1,876-1,900 beds, operated by GEO Group) — running. The five-year Intergovernmental Service Agreement the County Commissioners approved on September 28, 2021 (effective November 2021) expires in 2026 (reported variously as September and November). That expiration is the single clearest local lever to close a facility that processes ~14,000 people a year, and immigrant-rights advocates have organized to pressure the three commissioners not to renew.
The county earns only about $200,000 per year as middleman, while citing roughly $40 million in annual regional economic benefit, $37 million in payroll, and 400+ jobs as reasons to keep the facility.
Key Details
April 2026 — Hunger strike and conditions allegations
Detainees launched a hunger strike protesting medical neglect and spoiled food. Advocates documented “black material in milk, worms in food, chilly conditions” requiring detainees to sleep in coats, verbal abuse, overcrowding, inadequate medical care, and excessive solitary confinement. A 2023 Temple University study had already called the facility “punitive, inhumane and dangerous.”
April 28, 2026 — Commissioners meeting
About a dozen Indivisible activists confronted the Clearfield County Commissioners. Only Commissioner Dave Glass committed to voting against renewal, citing broader concerns about ICE policy. Commissioners Winters and Sobel expressed confidence in GEO’s operations and the facility’s economic contribution. Charlotte Moyal attended on behalf of her husband, detained 14 months and facing deportation to Afghanistan despite a valid work permit.
Deaths
Three detainees have died at Moshannon over three years: Chaofeng Ge (Chinese citizen; died by hanging in a shower stall, no mental-health treatment in five days, no Mandarin-speaking staff, went unmonitored — cited in a May 27, 2026 AP suicide investigation), Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, and Frankline Okpu.
May 27-28, 2026 — Escalation
Advocates held a May 27 press conference demanding the release of detainee Izzy Aly (stage 3 kidney disease) and non-renewal of the GEO contract. On May 28, 2026, U.S. Reps. Summer Lee and Chris Deluzio (both Pittsburgh-area Democrats) made an unannounced visit to the facility and called for an overhaul. Hundreds have joined repeated Philipsburg protests organized by Indivisible groups.
Why This Fight Matters
Unlike the Berks and Schuylkill warehouse fights — where the state has regulatory leverage — Moshannon is an existing, operating facility whose fate turns on a local renewal vote. If the Clearfield commissioners decline to renew, ICE loses its primary Northeast detention hub and the downstream destination of both the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia enforcement pipelines. The commissioners’ 2-1 lean toward renewal, against organized opposition and a documented death/neglect record, makes this one of the most consequential county-level detention decisions in Pennsylvania for 2026.
Sources
- Altoona Mirror: Clearfield County Commissioners hear criticism of Moshannon contract (Apr 28, 2026)
- WHYY: Advocates allege medical neglect at PA ICE detention center (May 2026)
- Philadelphia Inquirer / AP: ICE detainees dying by suicide — Chaofeng Ge (May 27, 2026)
- WPSU: U.S. House members make unannounced visit to Moshannon, call for overhaul (May 28, 2026)
- northcentralpa.com: Protesters demand closure of Moshannon Valley ICE facility
- WJAC: Protesters call to close Mo-Valley ICE detention center, demand contract end
- WTAJ: Activists protest in Philipsburg for closure of ICE detention center
- ABC27/Spotlight PA: County will make $1M in 5-year contracts with ICE