PHILIPSBURG, PA—A Chinese national, Chaofeng Ge, was pronounced dead by suicide while in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Pennsylvania. The death, which occurred on August 5, has drawn renewed criticism from immigrant advocacy groups regarding the conditions and oversight within detention facilities.
According to a news release from ICE, staff at the facility discovered the 32-year-old Ge hanging by the neck in a shower room. Staff members immediately administered CPR and contacted emergency services, but Ge was pronounced deceased at approximately 6:03 a.m. The Clearfield County coroner has ruled the death a suicide, and a handwritten note was found at the scene. Pennsylvania State Police and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility have launched investigations into the incident.
Ge’s death has prompted calls for the closure of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. Advocates and organizations, including Juntos, a Philadelphia-based immigrant rights group, held a press conference to condemn the conditions and highlight previous incidents at the facility. They argue that the private, for-profit detention system profits from human suffering and lacks adequate oversight. Local county commissioners, who have a contract with the private corporation GEO Group Inc. that operates the facility, have expressed sadness but stated they are not prepared to end the contract at this time.
This marks the 11th death in ICE custody since the start of the current administration. It is also the second death of a Chinese national in U.S. immigration custody within recent months. A previous incident in April involved a Chinese national who died by suicide at a Border Patrol station in Yuma, Arizona. In that case, a congressional representative raised concerns about unverified welfare checks and potential procedural failures.