A 32-year-old Chinese man, Chaofeng Ge, was found hanging in the shower at Pennsylvania’s Moshannon Valley Processing Center just five days after being taken into ICE custody. Authorities ruled the death a suicide, and a handwritten note was discovered at the scene. While officials opened an internal probe, immigrant rights groups are demanding the immediate shutdown of the detention center, citing years of abuse and neglect.

Tragic Death in Detention

Chaofeng Ge, a Chinese citizen, was found unresponsive in the shower area of the Clearfield County Jail (operated under contract by ICE) on August 1 and pronounced dead shortly before 6 a.m. ICE said Ge was discovered hanging by the neck, and CPR efforts failed. A letter was found nearby. Authorities confirmed there were no signs of foul play, and the Clearfield County Coroner officially ruled the cause of death as suicide.

Past Charges and ICE Custody

Ge had been arrested in January for credit card-related crimes, including access device fraud and criminal use of a communication facility. After pleading guilty in July, he was sentenced to 6–12 months in prison and then handed over to ICE. At the time of his death, he had only spent five days in ICE custody and was awaiting a hearing before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Investigation and Internal Review

ICE has launched an internal investigation through its Office of Professional Responsibility. “Comprehensive medical care is provided from the moment individuals arrive and throughout the entirety of their stay,” ICE claimed in its public statement. Pennsylvania State Police are also conducting a parallel inquiry.

A Troubled Facility

The Moshannon Valley Processing Center, operated by the private corporation GEO Group, is the largest ICE detention center in the Northeast, holding an average of 1,340 people daily. Activists and watchdogs have long raised alarms over conditions at the facility. A Temple University report based on detainee testimonies described “inhumane, punitive and dangerous conditions” at Moshannon since it reopened as a detention center in 2021.

Pattern of Abuse Allegations

Ge’s death follows previous troubling incidents at Moshannon. In 2023, Cameroonian detainee Frankline Okpu died there, and in 2024, three detainees were stabbed. Immigration attorney Alexandria Iwanenko shared disturbing reports from a former detainee who said he was denied water, shackled during meals, and blocked from contacting his lawyer. “There are human rights violations concerns due process and legal access concerns,” she said.

Advocates Demand Closure

“This most recent death serves as a reminder of what we know. Moshannon should not exist, and we want it closed now,” said Erika Guadalupe Núñez, executive director of Juntos, a Philadelphia-based immigrant rights organization. At a press conference, groups called on Clearfield County to end its contract with ICE and GEO Group, denouncing the facility as “a system built to profit off of human suffering.”

Officials Defend Facility Operations

Clearfield County Commissioner John Sobel expressed sadness over Ge’s death but said, “There didn’t seem to be anything connected with it that indicates… violence or something… we should be immediately concerned about.” Sobel added that the county remains in regular contact with Moshannon and believes it is operating within legal guidelines. “From what I can tell, they do keep the health, safety, and well-being of the detainees in mind in a proper fashion.”