MVIPC Calls (Department of Homeland Security, Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties)

To Whom It May Concern:

Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:

Any document listing all referrals, calls, or complaints involving allegations arising at the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center beginning June 1, 2021, and continuing through December 15, 2023.

The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.

In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.

Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.

Sincerely,

Andrew Free

Thank you very much! Do you have an estimated completion date?

Many thanks,

Andrew

Many thanks for this information.

Pursuant to 6 CFR 5.5(e), we hereby request expedited processing of this request, and declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to 28 USC 1746 that the following statements are true and correct to the best of our knowledge and understanding:

1. I am a member of the media primarily engaged in information collection and dissemination.
2. Frankline Okpu died in ICE custody on December 6, 2023. https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/cameroonian-national-ice-custody-dies
3. Implementing Congressional Appropriations requirements, ICE’s death policy, ICE Directive 11003.5, Section 5.3, paragraph 4, mandates ICE make available to the public a detainee death report on its website within 30 days of a person’s death. See https://www.ice.gov/doclib/detention/directive11003-5.pdf.
4. The ICE Detainee Death Report for a man who died two days before Frankline, Carlos Juan Francisco, is presently online: https://www.ice.gov/doclib/foia/reports/ddr_carlosJuanFrancisco.pdf.
5. The ICE Detainee Death Report for Frankline is not online as of the date of this request.
6. Public records received from the Pennsylvania State Police indicate the agency received at least *77* calls for alleged criminal activity at the Moshannon Valley ICE Processing Center between April 2022 and December 2023. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24373955-psp_final_response_2023-2559
7. At least *22* of those calls involved allegations of drug paraphernalia or possession. At least 19 of those calls involved allegations of rape, attempted rape, sexual assault, or indecent assault. https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/24373955-psp_final_response_2023-2559.
8. Frankline Okpu died of a drug overdose—MDMA toxicity—according to toxicology reports by the Clearfield County Coroner’s Report.
9. Between December 2022 and December 2023, there was not a single month that passed in which the Pennsylvania State Police went without receiving a call to investigate alleged criminal activity at Moshannon Valley.
10. In June 2023, the Department of Homeland Security’s Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties published its May 2023 Closing Memorandum summarizing investigative findings of multiple violations of detention standards at Moshannon Valley. https://www.dhs.gov/sites/default/files/2023-09/23_0620_crcl-close-summary-ice-moshannon-valley-processing-center-06-20-23.pdf.
11. ICE non-concurred or only partially concurred with at least 20 of 29 of CRCL’s recommendations.
12. Hundreds of noncitizens currently reside inside involuntarily the Moshannon Valley facility.
13. Neither ICE nor any of its oversight bodies has publicly released information revealing the cause and manner of Frankline’s death.

Based on the above, there is an urgent need to inform the public regarding the facts surrounding Mr. Okpu’s death, and the steps the agency may have taken to prevent harm to other people locked inside Moshannon Valley at government expense.

Please GRANT our request for expedited processing based on the facts and evidence above and ADVANCE our request in the queue to release these records as soon as practicable.

DHS CRCL warned ICE of the serious risk of harm to people locked inside Moshannon Valley less than six months before Frankline died. ICE ignored or failed to fully accepted 2/3 of CRCL’s warnings. Now a man is dead. The agency has failed to protect him. It is up to the public to reduce the risk of additional lethality at this facility. We cannot do that without these records.

Thank you for your time and attention!