The facility began accepting prisoners in April 2006 and continued to expand up until originally closing in 2021. At opening it was the first privately owned prison in Pennsylvania. In December 2014 Moshannon Valley's contract was renewed by the Federal government for 5 years, with 5 one year options after that for a total of 10 years. In August 2016, Justice Department officials announced that the FBOP would be phasing out its use of all contracted facilities, on the grounds that private prisons provided less safe and less effective services with no substantial cost savings. The agency expected to allow current contracts on its thirteen remaining private facilities to expire. In January 2021, it was announced that the Federal Bureau of Prisons had decided to not exercise the contract renewal option for the facility, and would allow the contract to end on March 31, 2021. GEO was expected to market the building to other federal and state agencies. In August 2021, it was revealed that the GEO Group had contracted the building to ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to become a detention facility. The facility will see some upgrades such as, and new 'no-climb' perimeter fencing. Local officials predict approximately 200 jobs were restored to the area with the potential for an additional 100 if the facility reaches capacity. Once released, detainees will be taken to either Pittsburgh or Philadelphia for travel to their final destination. The detainees will spend an average of 2–4 weeks at the institution before being relocated. During the
second presidency of Donald Trump, the facility served as a major facility for immigrants apprehended by ICE in the
New York and
Philadelphia regions. The facility has received complaints about abusive conditions, with civil rights advocates describing it as "an oppressive environment that seemed more like a prison for convicted criminals than a temporary holding center for immigrants." ==Notable inmates ==