Brother of NY man found hanging dead in Pa. ICE facility sues feds for answers

Leonard Greene, New York Daily News on Nov 12, 2025

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NEW YORK — The brother of a Chinese migrant from Queens who hanged himself while in ICE custody months ago is suing the federal government, demanding answers and transparency about his brother’s death and the agency facility where it happened.

Relatives of Chaofeng Ge, 32, said he was isolated and desperate when he hanged himself in the shower over the summer at a Pennsylvania detention center following an arrest.

“I am devastated by the loss of my brother and by the knowledge that he was suffering so greatly in that detention center,” Ge’s brother, Yanfeng Ge, said in a written statement. “He did not deserve to be treated that way.”

A Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by Yanfeng Ge against Immigration and Customs Enforcement was announced Wednesday at a press conference in lower Manhattan, where he was joined by immigration advocates. The lawsuit seeks facts and clarity on what happened to his brother.

Advocates said a lack of medical and mental-health facilities is enough to drive anyone over the edge

“Chaofeng’s life mattered,” said Katy Sastre, executive director of First Friends of New Jersey & New York. “And because of the nature of our immigration system, your family and many other families face not only the tragedy of having a loved one abused and potentially lost forever, but also a system that treats people inside as less than human.”

Ge was discovered on Aug. 7 unresponsive in his dormitory-style “pod” at the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Philipsburg around 5:20 a.m., according to an ICE press release.

Staff who found Ge immediately lowered him to the ground and provided CPR until first responders arrived on the scene.

Despite efforts to revive him, Ge was pronounced dead by the Clearfield County coroner a short time later, ICE said. He’d been in custody for just five days and was awaiting a hearing before the Justice Department’s Executive Office for Immigration Review.

Ge was arrested at a CVS near Harrisburg, Pa., in January, after workers there said he fraudulently used a credit card to buy gift cards, according to Lower Paxton Township police.

“An investigation was initiated, where Ge was found to be in possession of numerous stolen credit card numbers located within his cell phone,” police said.

In late July, Ge pleaded guilty to accessing a cell phone with stolen credit card numbers, officials said.

After his sentencing, he was placed in ICE custody.

An ICE representative did not immediately reply to a request for comment.