Several public commenters used the county’s public-comment period on Oct. 14 to urge Clearfield County commissioners to oppose renewing a contract with GEO Group and to raise concerns about conditions at a regional immigration detention center.

Bobby Erickson, identified in public comment as a resident, praised Commissioner Dave Glass for opposing GEO Group and said GEO “has been sued repeatedly for human rights abuses, medical neglect, forced labor, and even deaths in its facilities.” Erickson urged the board to “join Commissioner Glass and vote no on renewing this contract.” He criticized official visits to the facility as staged inspections that provide little oversight and questioned why federal lawmakers were denied access to the site, saying that if conditions were as GEO reported, there would be no reason to bar congressional oversight.

James Hartsock, a Phillipsburg resident, read from a report about conditions at the Shannon Valley Processing Center and described a detainee case. He recounted Jose Francisco Velazquez’s account — an asylum-seeker who said he was detained after presenting himself to ICE and reported being housed in crowded conditions at the Mo Valley Detention Center. Hartsock summarized reporting that detainees had lived in a space the size of a basketball court, sharing a small number of toilets and showers, and said reporters and immigrant attorneys had described overcrowding and unsafe conditions.

County officials acknowledged the comments and the commissioners listened without taking immediate action. Commissioners and staff said later in the meeting they were tracking oversight and regulatory developments, including changes to federal oversight that commenters described.

The public comments add local pressure on commissioners to clarify their position on facility contracts and oversight. No formal board action on GEO Group or detention contracting was taken during the meeting.