More than three hundred people gathered in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania, on March 15, 2025, to protest the Moshannon Valley Processing Center. This facility, operated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), is the largest immigration detention center in the Northeast, with a capacity of 1,876 detainees. Protesters assembled at Cold Stream Dam along Route 322, located approximately ten minutes from the center, and at Philipsburg Memorial Park, directly across from the borough office.
Organizer Megan Guidi, representing Pittsburgh Women for Democracy, called on the Clearfield County Commissioners to terminate their contract with ICE. “We’re here to call for the closure of the Moshannon Valley Processing Center,” she stated. Guidi highlighted ongoing lawsuits filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) against the facility, citing poor living conditions and notably high rates of solitary confinement.
Many attendees traveled from Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, while others hailed from local communities. Rose De La Luz, another event organizer, noted that some individuals personally funded their transportation to the protest. “A lot of people paid for their own bus tickets to be down here,” she remarked, adding that donations were also collected to assist with costs.
Amid the protest, speakers addressed common criticisms regarding the motivations of demonstrators. In response to allegations of paid participants, attendees vocally affirmed their commitment, with one protester declaring, “I hate Trump for free.”
De La Luz shared her personal connection to the cause, revealing that her cousin has been detained at the center for nearly five months. She has faced multiple denials of visitation, including her most recent attempt just a day prior to the protest. “He kept calling me every hour yesterday, just waiting to see how far in line I was to be able to get access to him,” she explained, expressing her frustration upon learning she could not visit. “We’re fighting with a bigger community, and we’re happy to have other people join us.”
The protest followed a smaller demonstration in the State College area, coinciding with reports that ICE arrested 26 immigrants in Centre County that week. The Moshannon Valley Processing Center faced renewed scrutiny after a 32-year-old man died in ICE custody, with state police ruling the cause of death as suicide.
Former President Donald Trump has previously emphasized his commitment to strict immigration enforcement, promising mass deportations during his campaign. His remarks at a rally in State College last year described undocumented immigrants as “really dangerous people.” Despite this, a recent PBS News/NPR/Marist poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe ICE’s actions have “gone too far.”
As the protest came to a close, participants echoed their resolve to continue advocating for change, emphasizing the need to address the conditions faced by those detained and calling for a halt to ICE operations in their communities.
