An ICE detainee was pronounced dead in Pennsylvania after being discovered “hanging by the neck” inside a detention center, immigration officials said. 

Chaofeng Ge, 32, of China, was found unresponsive at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg the morning of Aug. 5, according to U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement. An investigation into his death is underway. 

“He had been in ICE custody for five days and was awaiting a hearing before the Department of Justice’s Executive Office for Immigration Review. MVPC staff discovered Ge hanging by the neck and unresponsive in the shower room of his detention pod at 5:21 a.m.,” ICE said in a statement. 

“They immediately lowered him to the ground, began CPR and contacted Phillipsburg Emergency Medical Services, the Pennsylvania State Police and the coroner’s office.” 

Detainees play a board game at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a former prison repurposed as an immigration detention center operated by the GEO Group under contract with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Philipsburg, Pa., July 27, 2023.   (Reuters/Quinn Glabicki)

“Consistent with ICE policy, Enforcement and Removal Operations notified the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the Office of Inspector General and the ICE Office of Professional Responsibility via the Integrity Coordination Center. ERO provided notification of the death to the Chinese Embassy,” ICE also said. 

The Lower Paxton Township Police Department said on the day of Ge’s arrest its officers were dispatched to a CVS store in Harrisburg “for a report of a male using fraudulent credit cards in an attempt to purchase gift cards.  

The entrance to the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pa. (Reuters/Quinn Glabicki)

“Upon arrival, LPBP Officers located the male, who was identified as Chaofeng Ge of Flushing, New York.  An investigation was initiated, where Ge was found to be in possession of numerous stolen credit card numbers located within his cell phone,” police added.