26 workers detained by ICE in Centre County, advocacy groups say. What we know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- ICE officers reportedly detained 26 men in Centre County during traffic stops Tuesday.
- Advocacy groups allege pre-stop surveillance; state police deny any involvement.
- Labor leaders and lawmakers demand transparency, due process and worker protections.
Immigrant rights advocates said Thursday that 26 men were taken into U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody this week on highways in Centre County.
The tally has not been confirmed by the department, which has not responded to daily emails from the Centre Daily Times since Tuesday. It would mark the first known large-scale ICE activity in Centre County during President Donald Trump’s second term.
A coalition of four advocacy groups— Centre County Rapid Response Network, People’s Defense Front, Student Committee for Defense and Solidarity and the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition — said officers first stopped workers about 7 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 99 near Bellefonte as they were traveling to the construction site at Mount Nittany Medical Center.
Additional workers were stopped about 8 a.m. Tuesday on Eagle Valley Road near Interstate 80, the groups said. The Centre County Rapid Response Network said a witness reported a handful of officers detained three Latino men.
“As this incident did not occur on Mount Nittany Health property, we do not have information to share and will not be providing further comment,” the health system said in a statement Thursday.
State Rep. Paul Takac, D-College Township, said Wednesday that he is still attempting to gather information about what exactly happened. He said the workers are believed to have been staying at hotels in his district.
“We’re still in the information gathering stage and we want to make sure that this is a fair and just process,” Takac said. “That they get due process of law and that we continue to protect the citizens of Centre County as well as the rights of everyone involved.”
Questions remain about arrests
In the days leading up to the men being taken into custody, the advocacy groups said workers reported that officers were believed to be surveilling the construction site and following workers after their shifts.
“From this surveillance, ICE was able to target workers on their way to work,” the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition said in a news release.
They identified the men as nationals from Mexico and the Central American countries of Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Honduras. It was not immediately clear where the men may be detained.
The Rapid Response Network said it has identified all of the men, but declined to share their names publicly. The groups believe at least some are detained at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, as well as facilities in Clinton and Pike counties.
During Thursday’s press conference, advocates repeatedly said Pennsylvania State Police assisted ICE — a claim the agency has flatly denied multiple times in conversations with the CDT.
Trooper Jacob Rhymestine said state police at Rockview had “no involvement with any ICE activity in Centre County.” The officers captured in a widely shared video did not appear to be wearing the state police uniform.
In addition, state police policy says enforcement of federal immigration laws is exclusively handled by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Troopers are prohibited from questioning people about their immigration status unless it directly relates to a criminal investigation.
State police spokesman Myles Snyder later told the CDT multiple troopers stopped along the highway where ICE was operating, but left after being told everything was OK. The troopers were not involved in the operation, Snyder said.
He further said troopers have an obligation, if practical, to check with any law enforcement agency stopped on the shoulder of a highway.
After receiving confirmation from Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s office, Takac said state police were alerted ahead of time that there would be ICE activity, but they did not participate in the traffic stops or enforcement action.
Connor Lewis, chapter president of Seven Mountains AFL-CIO, strongly criticized the use of federal officers to apprehend workers on their way to build an expansion at a medical facility, calling it “obscene” and likening detention centers to modern day gulags.
He also described the officers as “thugs and cowards.”
“Every worker, regardless of documentation status, has the right to be safe on the job, and on their way to and from work,” Lewis said in a statement. “... Those workers will find themselves incarcerated in inhumane conditions without the benefit of due process. Meanwhile, the contractors that exploited them, and who have been investigated numerous times for worker abuses, will count their profits and move on to the next job.”
The labor union advocated for all elected officials that represent Centre County to ensure the workers’ rights are upheld, and that federal officers are held accountable for any abuses of their power.
Lewis also endorsed a protest planned for 2 p.m. Sunday in Philipsburg, about three miles away from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center.
“For-profit concentration camps paid for by taxpayer dollars have no place in a free society,” Lewis said. “The time for equivocation is over, and we’ll remember the choices that leaders make in this critical moment.”
What else is known about ICE activity in Centre County?
Some Centre County residents have been concerned about potential enforcement actions since Trump began his second term.
Rumors of ICE activity in the State College Area School District spread online in January, but the claims were quickly denied by the district. At Penn State, at least 25 international student visas were revoked only to later be reinstated by the Trump administration.
The Department of Homeland Security in May labeled Centre County and State College as “sanctuary jurisdictions,” a classification that has no firm criteria but generally accused them of defying federal immigration law. After widespread criticism, the list was removed days later. Neither the county nor the borough were included on a list released this month.
Centre County Rapid Response Network has trained more than 85 volunteers to verify and monitor ICE activity in the area. They have a 24-hour hotline 814-264-4626, but until this week the group had only dispelled rumors about ICE activity.
This story was originally published August 21, 2025 at 1:54 PM.