Scanlon Leads PA Dems to Demand Answers About Private Detention Center Financials

Scanlon Leads PA Dems to Demand Answers About Private Detention Center Financials

New Solicitation from ICE Could Extend Use of Moshannon Valley Processing Center for Immigration Detention for Another 10 Years

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05) today led her Pennsylvania Democratic House colleagues in pressing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the GEO Group, Inc.(GEO), and Clearfield County, Pennsylvania, for transparency on their intentionally opaque financial relationship with Moshannon Valley Processing Center, the largest immigration center in the Northeast. The push comes following Rep. Scanlon's unannounced oversight visit to Moshannon Valley Processing Center on July 29, 2026.

The letter is signed by Reps. Brendan Boyle (PA-02), Dwight Evans (PA-03), Madeleine Dean (PA-04), Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), Summer Lee (PA-12), and Chris Deluzio (PA-17).

"As Members of Congress, it is our responsibility to conduct oversight of government spending and executive action. GEO has reported record profits driven by this administration's mass deportation and immigrant surveillance campaigns. As part of these efforts, ICE and Clearfield County have both funneled Pennsylvanians' taxpayer dollars to GEO. More importantly, our constituents have been detained at Moshannon. It is incumbent on us, as their elected representatives, to investigate the contract terms that peg their detention to GEO's profit," the members wrote.

ICE recently issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) to solicit contract bids that would extend immigration detention at Moshannon for another 10 years. The current five year contract is due to expire this month. The RFP sets an expedited timeline - just two weeks of visibility for the public from the time it was posted online (August 28, 2026) to when the Phase 1 Proposal(s) were due (September 11, 2026). This timing is in line with other attempts by the administration to rush government contracts and obscure how taxpayer funds are being spent.

Both Congress and the public must be able to evaluate the financial impact of the current agreement governing Moshannon before a new contract is awarded. Currently, an Intergovernmental Service Agreement (IGSA) between ICE and Clearfield County provides for the operation of the Moshannon facility and services related to the detention of persons in ICE custody, with GEO as the approved private contractor delivering those services. This contracting structure thwarts oversight because it delays the availability of crucial financial details. When Congresswoman Scanlon visited Moshannon in July, onsite managers of the facility claimed that they could not provide the Congresswoman with a copy of the contract or other current billing details.

The IGSA agreement requires that the County submit an itemized operating fee to ICE on a monthly basis, which ICE then reviews and approves for payout. According to recent reports, the monthly fixed rate includes a monthly operating fee, which began as $2.95 million per month and may have adjusted over time, a per diem fee of $10 per day for 1 through 800 detainees and $40 per day for 801 to 1876 detainees, reimbursement of one dollar per day for the detainee work program, transportation fees, and fees for guards.

"We request that you provide us with any and all monthly invoices for services provided pursuant to the IGSA and all communications regarding such invoices and payments made for such services at Moshannon from January 1, 2025, to present, by and among ICE, GEO, and Clearfield County," the members continued. "We also request all invoices, payments, and communications by and among the parties and detainees regarding payments for and operation of the "detainee work program," from January 1, 2025, to the present."

"Finally, to the extent that additional agreements exist directly between GEO and Clearfield County, we request such agreements, corresponding contracts, any amendments or modifications, payment receipts, invoices, and supplemental documentation," the members concluded.

In the letter, the members have requested a number of materials by September 25, 2026 - prior to the expiration of the current IGSA between ICE and Clearfield County, which is set to expire on September 28, 2026.

Find the full text of the letter here.

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