A 32-year-old man in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody died by suicide after being found hanging in the shower room of a Pennsylvania detention center, officials said.
Chaofeng Ge, a citizen of China, was pronounced dead by the Clearfield County coroner around 6 a.m. on Tuesday. He had been found unresponsive in his detention pod’s shower room.
Investigators determined Ge’s death was a suicide after finding a handwritten note, and no signs of foul play were reported, according to Pennsylvania State Police. Staff immediately tried to save him by performing CPR and calling emergency services, ICE said.
Ge had only been in ICE custody for five days and was waiting for a hearing before the Department of Justice’s immigration review office. He was held at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg, Pennsylvania.
Ge had been arrested in January at a CVS store after police said he used a stolen credit card to buy gift cards. Investigators also found stolen credit card information on his phone. He was charged with computer and credit card fraud. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to six to 12 months in prison and then transferred to ICE custody.
ICE stated that all detainees receive medical, dental, and mental health screenings shortly after arriving at their facilities, and emergency care is available 24/7. The Department of Homeland Security confirmed the in-custody death and said all such deaths are thoroughly investigated.
A DHS official said, “All in-custody deaths are tragic and taken very seriously. ICE is committed to keeping people in its custody safe and providing humane treatment.”
