Rep. Summer Lee, Human Rights First Advocate Denied Entry to ICE Detention Center During Oversight Visit

PITTSBURGH, PA—AUGUST 25, 2025 — Today, Congresswoman Summer L. Lee (PA-12), Ranking Member of the Federal Law Enforcement Subcommittee, and Human Rights First’s Senior Counsel Yannick Gill visited the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, a privately operated immigration detention facility in Pennsylvania, to conduct oversight following allegations of human rights abuses and the death of a 32-year-old man. After being told to wait for over an hour, Rep. Lee and Mr. Gill were denied entry by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials.

The attempted visit comes amid mounting concerns about conditions inside immigration detention facilities, including reports of inadequate medical care, prolonged detention, and limited access to legal representation. Hundreds of people gathered yesterday near Moshannon to protest the conditions. Human Rights First, a nonpartisan international human rights organization, has documented serious abuses and due process violations inside immigration detention centers, including at Moshannon Valley. The denial of entry raises urgent questions about what ICE is trying to hide from the public and elected officials.

“Today’s denied entry into Moshannon Valley is another example of the Trump administration's executive overreach. Conducting oversight as a Member of Congress is a constitutional right, and with numerous allegations of human rights abuses, our communities deserve to know how people are being treated inside these taxpayer-funded facilities,”said Congresswoman Summer Lee. “Transparency and accountability are non-negotiables in a democracy, and ICE cannot be allowed to operate in the shadows."

“Blocking sitting members of Congress from entering a detention facility not only violates the constitution, but should call the public to question what is happening behind these walls that the administration is trying to hide,” said Yannick Gill, Senior Counsel of Refugee Advocacy at Human Rights First. “Oversight is a critical safeguard against abuse, neglect, and violations of human rights such as the right to seek asylum. Immigration detention should never be a death sentence.”

Earlier this year, Rep. Lee introduced the Congressional Oversight Access Act, critical legislation to protect Members of Congress from violence, obstruction, and retaliation when conducting official oversight of the executive branch. Members of Congress have broad legal authority to conduct unannounced inspections of federal detention facilities to ensure accountability and transparency.

Congresswoman Summer Lee serves on the House Committee on Oversight and Government Accountability and the Committee on Education and Workforce. Since taking office in January 2023, she has delivered historic levels of federal investment totaling over $2.4 Billion brought back to Western PA, including over $580 million for infrastructure, over $110 million for affordable transit, over $500 million to keep clean energy manufacturing at home in Pennsylvania, and over $55 million on clean energy efforts in and around schools to help keep our kids and communities safe. These investments will help improve Western Pennsylvania’s infrastructure and transit, ensure cleaner air and drinking water, lower housing costs, fund research institutions, fuel clean manufacturing, fund STEM innovation and entrepreneurship, boost workforce development, and create thousands of good paying union jobs.  Lee and her team have also delivered casework and constituent services to over 3,000 constituents with issues ranging from helping our seniors and disabled community access Medicare and social security to helping folks secure housing and helping families with immigration support and passports.