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Dauphin County officials are challenging accusations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding the death of a Chinese national who died by suicide after being transferred to federal custody.
Commissioner Justin Douglas stated Wednesday that Dauphin County Prison properly provided medical documentation when transferring Chaofeng Ge to ICE agents last July. This contradicts ICE's claim that they never received the man's medical discharge forms that contained critical information about his previous suicide attempt.
"When Ge died in ICE custody, ICE publicly shifted blame back toward Dauphin County Prison. That is not a valued partnership," Douglas said during a prison board meeting, according to PennLive.
The 32-year-old Ge was found dead in a shower stall at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County on August 5, just five days after being transferred from Dauphin County Prison. He had been arrested in January 2025 on credit card fraud charges and was transferred to ICE custody on July 31 after his release from county jail.
Tom Weber, CEO of PrimeCare Medical, which provided healthcare services at Dauphin County Prison at the time, confirmed that jail staff gave medical discharge forms directly to ICE agents. These forms included information about Ge's previous suicide attempt while in county custody.
"If it turns out that ICE is blaming employees of another facility for the harm they caused, this would be yet another instance of a rogue agency whose leadership thinks that it can act with impunity and without accountability," said Jonathan Feinberg, a lawyer representing Ge's family, as reported by PennLive.
The incident has prompted Douglas to propose a new policy that would limit the county's cooperation with ICE. At next month's prison board meeting, he plans to introduce a measure requiring ICE to present a valid judicial warrant before the county will coordinate with the agency. Currently, the county holds people set for release until the end of the day if ICE has placed a civil detainer on them.
"I believe Dauphin County Prison should not coordinate with ICE unless presented with a valid, lawful judicial warrant. This would provide a clear, defensible course of action for staff to follow," Douglas said according to CBS 21.
Ge was one of 32 people who died in ICE custody last year, making 2025 the deadliest year in ICE detention in more than 20 years.
The next Dauphin County Prison Board meeting is scheduled for March 25 at 1:30 p.m. and is open to the public.
Anyone who needs to talk can call 800-273-8255 no matter the time of day.