Aug 9, 2025 3 min read

Albert Einstein said a picture is worth a thousand words.

The photo of the sign at the Moshannon detention center in Philipsburg in today’s newspaper screams them.

Irony, too.

“Help shelter pets find their way home,” the billboard in the background reads.

The signs’ juxtaposition makes us wonder why we feel compelled to campaign to find homes for unwanted animals while denying the same privilege to human beings – people like Jesus Teran, a member of the local community who has been swept up in a mass deportation effort to rid the country of undocumented immigrants.

Teran, a civil engineer, fled his native Venezuela – a country marred by violence and unrest – to seek asylum in the United States. He has lived here peacefully since 2021, working for a local carpenters union and paying taxes. In his free time, he has helped nurture a community garden at the Washington County church where he faithfully attends Mass with his wife and two children.

As an undocumented immigrant, Teran kept his regular appointments at the Immigration and Customers Enforcement field office in Pittsburgh. It was at his July check-in when he was detained and is now several hours away in the Moshannon Valley Processing Center in Clearfield County, awaiting a hearing before a judge who will determine his fate.

Teran did nothing wrong. Like the majority of the other undocumented immigrants in federal custody, he has a clean record, unless contributing to the local economy and helping grow produce for the less fortunate in our community is considered a criminal offense.

Yet despite the pleas of numerous character witnesses, Teran and others like him continue to be held in detention with limited opportunity to post bond and treated as if they are threats to public safety.

Peters Township immigration attorney Linda Hamilton said it best: “Entering the U.S. without inspection is not a violent crime. It should not result in automatic, indefinite incarceration. But under current enforcement tactics, we’ve reached a point where anyone without status is treated like a danger to society, regardless of their record, their contributions, or their family ties.

“Everyone should be outraged no matter where they fall politically. If we believe in fairness, proportionality, and the rule of law, we cannot stay silent while our neighbors are disappeared into remote prisons simply for trying to survive and build a life.”

To be clear, we are not advocating for the release of violent offenders. We are simply calling for humane treatment and due process – entitlements under the law.

After all, they are people who deserve the same measure of dignity and respect as the rescues that await new homes.