PA lawmakers demand action at Northeast’s largest detention facility
In a cowritten letter, three Pennsylvanian lawmakers demanded an overhaul of procedures at the Northeast’s largest detention facility.
- Three Pennsylvania lawmakers are demanding an overhaul of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.
- The representatives cited “systemic failures,” including medical staff shortages and detainee deaths.
- Lawmakers also raised concerns about a potential conflict of interest involving ICE’s acting director and GEO Group.
In lengthy letters sent to GEO Group and officials with Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security, three Democratic Pennsylvania lawmakers demanded an overhaul of procedures at the Northeast’s largest immigration detention facility and reports on a potential conflict of interest involving ICE’s acting director.
On Aug. 5, U.S. Rep. Madeleine Dean, who represents parts of Montgomery and Berks Counties, co-wrote letters detailing concerns about Moshannon Valley Processing Center alongside Rep. Summer Lee, who represents parts of Allegheny and Westmoreland, and Chris Deluzio, who represents parts of Allegheny and all of Beaver County.
The letters, sent to GEO Group, Acting Director of ICE David Venturella and Acting Director and Chief Medical Officer of DHS’ Office of Health Security Sean Conley, detailed what the members of Congress saw during visits at the Central Pennsylvania ICE facility. They also addressed concerns about Venturella’s ties to GEO Group.
Here’s what they said.
Members of Congress flag ‘systemic failures’ at PA ICE facility
In their joint letters, Dean, Deluzio and Lee detailed what they witnessed during their visits earlier this year at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, describing “systemic failures” at the facility.
They said there was a “dangerous shortage” in medical staffing in violation of GEO’s federal contract, and that detainees reported not receiving mandatory medical screenings within 12 hours of their arrival at the facility as mandated by federal law.
The three members of Congress also discussed three detainees who died while at the facility in 2023 and 2025. Chaofeng Ge, a 32-year-old who died by suicide in 2025, entered the facility in “severe mental distress” and did not receive “adequate mental health treatment” or a Mandarin translator before his death, according to the letter. Frankline Okpu, 37, died in solitary confinement in 2023 event though he had obtained a deferral of removal under the Convention Against Torture because ICE appealed the decision. Fouad Saeed Abdulkadir, then 46, died in 2025 after complaining of severe chest pains.
During Deluzio and Lee’s visit to the facility in May, they spoke to women who described the conditions they were facing, the representatives said. A pregnant woman said she was denied prenatal care and was unsure of the status of her pregnancy after seeking care for bleeding. Another woman said she had been sexually assaulted in the facility.
Lawmakers raise concerns about PA ICE facility business model, ICE director’s GEO ties
In their letters, Dean, Deluzio and Lee blamed the issues at Moshannon Valley Processing Center on it being run under a privatized, for-profit business model.
“As a publicly traded entity, GEO has a strict legal obligation, a fiduciary duty, to act in the best interest of its shareholders,” lawmakers wrote. “GEO’s focus on maximizing shareholder value drives aggressive cost cutting across medical personnel, nutritional quality, and translation services.”
They also raised concerns about Venturella’s connection to GEO presenting a conflict of interest. Venturalla worked as a senior executive at GEO for more than a decade, initially serving as senior vice president of client relations, then as a consultant through January 2025.
While Venturella said he has divested of his GEO Group stocks and recused himself “from all contracts and obligations related to detention,” The Hill reported, representatives still raised concerns about his consulting agreement containing a non-compete clause that stops him from engaging with entities competing with GEO through 2027.
Lee, Deluzio, Dean faced barriers during visits at PA ICE facility
In May, Lee and Deluzio conducted an unannounced inspection of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. During the visit, staff members were not allowed to accompany them to translate, and neither representative was allowed to bring a phone inside.
While women inside the facility spoke with Deluzio and Lee, facility staff “rushed” the representatives away immediately after the conversation, they said in their letters.
Deluzio also said in May that he was not allowed to speak to Randy Cordova Flores, a Peruvian father who was arrested in January and, Pittsburgh’s Public Source reported, released in June.
Dean had a similar experience in June, according to the press release from Deluzio’s office, with the congresswoman being forbidden from speaking with detainees throughout her visit at the facility.
Lawmakers call for reforms at PA ICE facility, answers on Venturella connections
In their letters, Dean, Deluzio and Lee made numerous demands, including a plan outlining how ICE will enforce compliance with federal law regarding medical screenings, a new staffing plan, a plan for monitoring federal contract compliance, records of month-by-month medical staffing laws since November 2021, employment documents and contracts for Venturella, written justification related to GEO’s allocation of funds toward stock buybacks in 2026 rather than medical staffing, communication between Venturella and anyone affiliated with GEO from early 2025 to present, a report of financial compensation GEO paid to Venturella for each year of. his employment including when he was a consultant and more.
They gave all parties 14 days to respond.
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.