Hundreds of people from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and other cities across Pennsylvania rallied in the city of Philipsburg, on Aug. 24. to protest against the GEO Moshannon Valley Processing Center. As the largest federal detention facility not located in the U.S. South, the for-profit facility receives most of the people arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic.

The rally at the Cold Stream Dam & Recreation Park condemned federal policies that have torn migrant families apart, incarcerating and deporting hundreds of thousands of immigrants. Then 60 people drove to the GEO prison entrance to hold a vigil in front of a large billboard created and paid for by local residents, clergy and migrant workers.

It originally read: “Cost to educate one child in Philipsburg for a year? About $22,000. Your tax dollars. Hard at work for you.” However “educate” was crossed out with “detain” written in red; “child” replaced with “immigrant;” “$22,000” replaced with “$48,000” and “you” replaced with “The GEO Group.”

–Report and photos by Joe Piette