Measles Outbreak at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas Reported
USA – A measles outbreak at Dilley Immigration Processing Center in Texas was reported on Sunday, forcing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to halt all movements in the facility.
The Texas Department of State Health Service announced that on Jan. 31, two detainees were confirmed to have “active measles infections” at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center, located around 70 miles (112 kilometers) southwest of San Antonio.
“ICE Health Services Corps immediately took steps to quarantine and control further spread and infection, ceasing all movement within the facility and quarantining all individuals suspected of making contact with the infected,” the department said in a statement.
The facility, officially known as the South Texas Family Residential Center, serves families with children who are awaiting deportation or other immigration court proceedings, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said they are keeping a close eye on the situation.
“Medical staff is continuing to monitor the detainees’ conditions and will take appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection,” said DHS officials in a statement. “All detainees are being provided with proper medical care.”
On Sunday, the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) held a rally outside the ICE facility, calling for its closure and condemning what it described as inhumane and unconstitutional conditions.
“When a nation that calls itself a beacon of freedom detains children behind razor wire, separates families from their communities, and holds them in isolated conditions, we have crossed a dangerous line,” LULAC National President Roman Palomares said in a statement.
The Dilley detention facility has a capacity to hold 2,400 detainees.
According to government data obtained by CBS News, ICE is currently holding more than 70,000 individuals facing deportation at immigration detention facilities across the United States.
That number is a massive jump from a year ago, when ICE was holding around 40,000 detainees.
