Residents and advocates accuse conditions at Moshean Valley processing center; commissioners schedule facility visit

Multiple residents and advocates told the Clearfield County Board of Commissioners during public comment that people detained at the Moshean Valley processing center — a facility operated by GEO Group on county property — have experienced abusive treatment, prolonged solitary confinement and restricted access to attorneys.

The allegations came from several speakers who identified themselves during the public-comment period. Abigail Grama Sullivan told the board she and others had filed and circulated ACLU complaints and witness statements detailing “human rights violations occurring in our backyard.” She recounted testimony she said came from former detainees: “They tied my feet in my hands. They gave me food with my feet and hands tied. I couldn't eat many times, and I asked for water. They didn't give it.”

Carrot Stranner Taylor asked the commissioners to explain an administrative fee the county receives under the contract with GEO Group and to investigate whether the fee — she said is $16,666 a month — effectively buys silence. Taylor said she had been told by attorneys and others that detainees in the facility have been held in long periods of solitary confinement and that some are denied contact with counsel, which she described as “due process violations.”

Caitlin McLaughlin and other speakers offered individual stories of people they said were detained after complying with immigration check‑ins. McLaughlin described one man, identified as Jesus Turan, as a community member detained after attending routine ICE appointments and said supporters had been writing on his behalf.

Commissioners responded during the meeting with a commitment to visit the facility. A county official said at least two of the three commissioners expect to tour the Geoprocessing/Moshean Valley facility later this week to review concerns raised during public comment. The commissioners also said the county has no ownership stake in day‑to‑day management of the facility but noted GEO Group had provided information when requested and described GEO as “a very good partner and very transparent with any information we have asked them for.”

Speakers requested a formal inquiry and public answers about contract terms, medical care, use of solitary confinement and the county’s oversight of subcontracted operations. Commissioners did not announce a formal investigative timeline at the meeting but said they would tour the site and follow up with more information afterward.

The board did not take a formal vote on an investigation during the meeting.