- Advocates said Mahoning Township police and ICE detained at least 49 workers in two Danville-area operations on September 2 and 8.
- The September 2 operation began after workers left the Geisinger Medical Center site, while September 8 arrests started around 6 a.m.
- Police described traffic stops, but advocates said checkpoints, drones, and home follow-ups made it a much wider workplace raid.
Mahoning Township police and federal immigration agents detained construction workers in two operations in the Danville area, including at least 41 people on September 2 and eight more on September 8, immigrant-rights advocates said.
The two operations produced at least 49 detainees, according to the advocates’ account. The September 8 arrests began around 6 a.m.
The earlier operation involved workers leaving an EwingCole construction site at Geisinger Medical Center around 5 p.m., the Centre County Rapid Response Network said. The group said the workers came from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and other countries.
Police described a narrower sequence of events. Mahoning Township Police Chief Fred Dyroff said officers stopped vehicles for alleged traffic violations and transferred some occupants to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after determining they were in the country illegally.
The chief’s account places the police role in traffic enforcement. Advocates described additional actions around the construction project.
The Centre County Rapid Response Network said agents, assisted by Danville police, stopped workers as they drove away from the site. It also said agents set up checkpoints near highway entrances and used drones during the September 2 operation.
Eyewitnesses described the drones as contributing to an atmosphere of militarization, according to the group. Some workers were held at Clinton County Jail.
Advocates describe a wider operation than police traffic stops
The Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition called the arrests the largest workplace raid in the state to date. The group said agents followed some workers from the edge of the hospital property to their homes.
Other workers, advocates said, faced checkpoints as they left Danville for destinations elsewhere in Pennsylvania. The account also connected the enforcement activity to a broader workplace enforcement surge.
The construction project involves a new patient tower. Advocates said agents targeted workers tied to that project rather than conducting only isolated vehicle stops.
A separate account said agents returned to the project area on September 8. It initially described one additional arrest, while the deeper account counted eight people detained that day.
The hospital says the activity did not occur on its property
The hospital said it knew about law-enforcement activity on September 2 involving workers from its tower construction project. It said the activity did not occur on hospital property.
The institution also said a construction manager oversees the project and bears responsibility for worker eligibility checks.
“As with any large construction project, we hire a construction manager to oversee the project,”
“It is their responsibility to make sure all workers on the project meet all federal and state work eligibility requirements.”
The hospital’s statement separates its role from the arrests and places federal and state work eligibility compliance with the project’s construction manager.
Some detainees were held at Clinton County Jail
The reported detainees included men from Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras and other countries. The advocates’ account said all remained in detention.
The September 2 arrests followed workers leaving the construction site. The September 8 arrests began earlier, at about 6 a.m., according to the deeper account.
The reports describe different settings for the encounters: traffic stops, vehicles leaving the project, checkpoint areas near highway entrances and follow-up actions at workers’ homes. Those descriptions came from separate accounts by police and immigrant-rights advocates.
The Centre County Rapid Response Network said some detainees were being held at Clinton County Jail. The account did not describe court proceedings or the immigration allegations against individual workers.
Federal agencies had not provided an immediate response
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Department of Homeland Security could not immediately be reached for comment. The agencies’ response would address the federal role in the reported detentions and the enforcement activity around the construction project.
The Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition characterized the incident as part of a wider workplace enforcement surge. The reported operations occurred on September 2 and September 8, giving the account two separate dates for arrests connected to the same Danville construction project.
This article provides general information and is not legal advice. Consult a qualified immigration attorney about your specific case.
