Representative Madeleine Dean of Glenside wrote letters on to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the GEO Group, the for-profit prison corporation that owns and operates Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, to “demand answers on GEO’s failure to comply with federal standards of adequate staffing and medical care to detainees, as well as obstruction of congressional oversight”, according to a Wednesday press release.
The letters were co-authored by Representatives Chris Deluzio and Summer Lee.
Dean conducted an announced congressional oversight visit to the Philipsburg center on June 17. According to the release, senior MVPC leadership admitted during the visit that initial medical screenings occurred 24 to 72 hours upon arrival, which violates ICE’s national standard of comprehensive screening within 12 hours of every detainee’s arrival, Dean noted in the release.
The facility houses 1,656 individuals, 1,621 of which are men.
“As a member of the House Appropriations Committee, it is my constitutional duty to ensure that federal contractors honor their legal obligations and that taxpayer dollars do not fund systemic neglect or cruelty. What I uncovered at MVPC did not reassure me; rather, it confirmed serious reports of medical neglect, safety violations, and explicit contract violations,” Dean wrote.
The lawmakers requested answers from both ICE and GEO “regarding federal contract compliance, a commitment to congressional oversight, and recusal agreements governing former ICE and DHS officials currently employed by or consulting for GEO and current ICE and DHS employees formerly employed by or consulting for GEO”, the release said.
In January, Dean petitioned Senators John Fetterman and Dave McCormick to oppose Department of Homeland Security funding that does not include “critical” immigration reforms.
Dean shared her thoughts on the future of ICE detention facilities with NBC10 last week:
The full letter to ICE:
The full letter to GEO:
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Screengrab: NBC10