Shut Down Detention Campaign

Shut Down Detention Campaign The Shut Down Detention Campaign organizes to shut down immigrant detention centers across Pennsylvania and New Jersey. DMs not monitored.

04/23/2026

Migrant children are being detained at Abraxas Academy in Morgantown, PA — a facility with a documented history of staff physically and sexually abusing youth in its care. Pennsylvania revoked one of Abraxas’s state licenses in November 2025 after a staff member was documented using violence against a child, but they still operate.

We held press conference outside Abraxas demanding Governor Shapiro issue an Emergency Removal Order and release the migrant youth to their families. Read our full report: paimmigrant.org/shut-down-detention

04/21/2026

Bobbi, a local resident, reads the testimony of a woman detainee held in Moshannon Detention Center. Never committed a crime, waiting on a court date that might not come for months, and held in inhumane conditions.

The Clearfield County Commissioners signed a contract with ICE and the private prison corporation, GEO Group, to hold nearly 2,000 people for months in a “concentration camp” while they wait for months for immigration court to resolve paperwork.

Enough. Tell the commissioners do not renew their contract.

Tim Winters, [email protected]
John Sobel, [email protected]
Dave Glass, [email protected]

Commissioners Meetings at 10:30 am, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, Commissioners Conference Room, 212 E Locust Street, Clearfield, PA 16830

🎥 produced by

04/18/2026

According to a report published this week by PennLive, nearly 100 men detained inside the facility’s Unit Four have launched a hunger strike to protest dangerous conditions, including contaminated food, inadequate medical care, and staff indifference to a detainee who lost consciousness on the floor of his unit.

The strike was triggered after a man on Unit Four began vomiting a green substance, turned pale, and fainted while staff failed to respond, instead directing other detainees to assist him. According to a witness who spoke with PennLive, it was the third person to be hospitalized with similar symptoms. When detainees raised alarms, staff dismissed the illnesses as a “common cold.” Family members of people inside the facility believe the men may be suffering from an intestinal infection.

The Shut Down Detention Campaign demands an immediate release of those sick and on the hunger strike, and that the permanent closure of the prison by having the Clearfield County Commissioners end the contracts at the prison.

04/17/2026

Pennsylvania immigration detention facilities rank second highest in the country for the use of solitary confinement, where individuals can be held in isolation for over 22 hours a day, for multiple days, weeks, months straight.

The United Nations has stated that more than 15 consecutive days in solitary confinement may constitute psychological torture.

Watch as a Clearfield County resident reads testimony on behalf of a detained individual who was placed into solitary confinement for 60 days straight over a small verbal argument.

Join us in telling the Clearfield County Commissioners to vote no to contract renewal with ICE. Say no to psychological torture taking place in Clearfield County.

Tim Winters, [email protected]
John Sobel, [email protected]
Dave Glass, [email protected]

Commissioners Meetings at 10:30 am, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of each month, Commissioners Conference Room, 212 E Locust Street
Clearfield, PA 16830

🎥 Produced by

We are kindly asking you to help Roberto Miranda Celiz with his legal fees. Roberto is the loving, hardworking father of...
04/09/2026

We are kindly asking you to help Roberto Miranda Celiz with his legal fees. Roberto is the loving, hardworking father of two children who was detained by ICE during his immigration court hearing back in December 2025. His absence has left a huge void in their lives.

Roberto has spent more than three months at the Moshannon Immigration Detention Center, far from his family and children, unable to hug them or be in the home where he belongs. These have been days filled with anguish, uncertainty, and immense pain for everyone.

Despite everything, his family continues to fight legally for his freedom. They have already begun the appeals process and are working with lawyers to get Roberto released as soon as possible. However, the legal costs are very high, and each day it becomes more difficult for them to sustain this battle alone.

Today, we humbly reach out to you to ask for your support. Every donation, no matter how small, brings his family one step closer to bringing Roberto home. If you are unable to donate, please help us by sharing this campaign. That also makes a huge difference.

Thank you for taking the time to read Roberto’s story and for any support you can offer.

To donate, please use the following link:
https://donorbox.org/robertomirandaceliz











04/07/2026

Over 1,800 of our community members are held in Moshannon, the largest detention center in the Northeast. The contract between private prison organization, GEO Group, and the Clearfield County Commissioners expires this September and residents are speaking up, by giving voice to those silenced behind bars.

Send the commissioners an email, let them know that the conditions inside Moshannon are dehumanizing and they need to stop the county’s compliance.

Tim Winters, [email protected]
John Sobel, [email protected]
Dave Glass, [email protected]

Nearly 2,000 people are held inside Moshannon Detention Center often for several months to years.Behind every number is ...
04/01/2026

Nearly 2,000 people are held inside Moshannon Detention Center often for several months to years.

Behind every number is a name, a story, a life — Maklim Gomez Escalante has been in Moshannon for the last 71 days and counting awaiting a hearing. He is our neighbor and lives behind bars where his medical care is delayed, denied, or ignored.

Maklim was subpoenaed to Magistrate Court in Baldwin, Allegheny County, PA in an unrelated matter to testify as a witness and ICE agents detained him once he arrived. You can support his family at bit.ly/maklim.

The People of Moshannon series will compile stories until the detention center is shut down. The Moshannon contract between Clearfield County and GEO Group is up for renewal in September 2026, join us in telling the Clearfield County Commissioners, do not renew!

03/31/2026

In 1982, a 20-year-old man named Subu Vedam was accused of a murder he did not commit. Prosecutors had evidence that could have cleared him, and hid it.

He spent the next 44 years in a Pennsylvania prison. He twice turned down the chance for freedom through plea bargains, because he knew he was innocent.

Last August, a judge agreed: Subu’s constitutional rights had been violated. His conviction was vacated. The DA dropped all remaining charges against Subu.

The very next day, as he was preparing to walk out after 43 years, he was transferred to ICE custody. Subu is now 64 years old and has been held in an immigration detention center for six months.

On Wednesday, April 1st at 1:30 pm ET, a judge will decide whether he is deported or freed. After 44 years, this is it.

Visit freesubu.org for ongoing updates

ICE wants to lock people in Amazon-style warehouses, as ICE’s director Todd Lyons puts it, “like Prime, but for human be...
03/30/2026

ICE wants to lock people in Amazon-style warehouses, as ICE’s director Todd Lyons puts it, “like Prime, but for human beings.” Read more from Isobel Mohyeddin at nilc.org.

In Schuylkill County, DHS acquired a 1.3-million-square-foot distribution center for $119 million and in Berks County, a nearly 520,000 square feet former logistics center for $87 million.

We’re calling on our Pennsylvania community to take action:
🔗 Stay informed → noskookdetention.com
📢Demand your Governor intervene NOW
💵Tell Congress: Defund ICE.
📄Ask your county commissioners for an independent impact study.

Pennsylvania has already seen the human cost of immigration detention. People are held for months or years, often transf...
03/23/2026

Pennsylvania has already seen the human cost of immigration detention. People are held for months or years, often transferred between facilities to delay their cases. Our state already holds the largest immigration detention center in the Northeast and we can’t bear expansion.

Here’s what you can do:
- Learn more at noskookdetention.com
- Demand an independent assessment from the Commissioners
- Call on the Governor to stay on top of these developments
- Contact your Members of Congress and demand they defund ICE

Join us this Thursday in front of FDC Philadelphia! The family of Parady La, who died in ICE custody on January 9, 2025,...
02/03/2026

Join us this Thursday in front of FDC Philadelphia!

The family of Parady La, who died in ICE custody on January 9, 2025, will hold a press conference on Thursday, February 5 alongside community and legal advocates to demand answers and transparency.

The ACLU of Pennsylvania will announce a FOIA request on behalf of the La family, calling for the immediate release of records, video footage, and policies to uncover the truth about Parady’s treatment in detention—and to demand an end to immigrant detention and the terror it inflicts on our communities.

Address

Philadelphia, PA
19106

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Shut Down Detention Campaign posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Shut Down Detention Campaign:

Shortcuts

Share