NEED TO KNOW
- Two cases of measles have been confirmed at the Texas detention center where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was held
- Officials say some people at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center have been quarantined
- “All movement” at the facility has been halted, according to the Department of Homeland Security
Two cases of measles have been confirmed at a Texas detention center, prompting officials to quarantine some detainees and halt “all movement” at the facility.
The contagious disease was found at Dilley Immigration Processing Center, where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos was held with his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, for nearly two weeks before being released on Feb. 1.
Officials have not specified how they are treating detainees sickened by measles. DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin claimed it is “the best healthcare that many aliens have received in their entire lives,” per NBC News.
However, conditions at the facility were previously grounds for a lawsuit alleging that the water was cloudy, and medical care for detainees was delayed, as reported by The Associated Press.
“All detainees are being provided with proper medical care,” the Department of Homeland Security said after the measles cases, per Reuters. “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.”
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The measles outbreak in Texas began last year, with a total of 762 people confirmed infected in the state, per the Texas Department of Health. Nationwide, three people died, two of them children, amid a total of 2,255 confirmed measles cases.
The U.S. has seen a total of 588 confirmed cases of measles so far this year, per the most recent data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. For the entirety of 2024, there were 285 cases.
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