Dozens of protesters packed the Clearfield County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, calling for a full investigation into the conditions at the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center.
Members with ‘Indivisible Mayday’ claim that immigrants there are facing poor food quality, limited space and inadequate care from ICE agents.
The protest comes after reports of an alleged mass hunger strike at the facility just last week.
County officials explained that the facility is federally run and any oversight or changes must come from the national level, and not locally.
Both sides spoke to us as concerns and questions continue to grow.
“All three of us, regardless of political party, we take this seriously. We do our diligence. We’ve been there multiple times. Direct your ire. If you don’t like the policy, we’re not the policy people. We’re the guys on the ground,”
“I’m absolutely going to vote not to be part of this, because I definitely don’t think it’s the place for the county to be. But if the argument is if we’re out, would the facilities still be open? And I think that’s very much a yes. Then we are removing ourselves from any sort of influence,”
“It doesn’t matter if they’re citizens or legal or illegal. It’s America, you know. So, we’re just trying to fight for answers. We want to have the facility shut down and just have everyone release back to their families and then go about it that way,”
A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security previously stated that the hunger strike allegations are false and that inmates are eating normally.