US Quarantines Over 2,200 Migrants Amid "Unprecedented" Disease Outbreaks

As of March 7, US immigration officials have quarantined at least 2,287 migrants carrying everything from mumps to chickenpox, according to Reuters, citing an ICE official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

CE health officials have been notified of 236 confirmed or probable cases of mumps among detainees in 51 facilities in the past 12 months, compared to no cases detected between January 2016 and February 2018. Last year, 423 detainees were determined to have influenza and 461 to have chicken pox. All three diseases are largely preventable by vaccine. -Reuters

"When there is just one person who is sick, everybody pays," said 19-year-old Christian Mejia, who was put on lockdown in rural Louisiana's Pine Prairie immigration detention center along with hundreds of other detainees. According to internal emails reviewed by Reuters, outbreaks such as the one in Louisiana are difficult to manage, as immigrant detainees are often shuttled around the country, and many diseases don't necessarily show symptoms during the contagious phase.

Since January, the 1,094-bed Pine Prairie facility has had 18 detainees with confirmed or probable cases of mumps compared to no cases in 2018, according to ICE. As of mid-February, 288 people were under quarantine at Pine Prairie. Mejia said his quarantine ended on Feb. 25. -Reuters

Disturbingly, emails reveal that the warden at Disturbingly, emails reveal that the warden at Pine Prairie decided not to quarantine 40 new arrivals from Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi, despite concerns raised by the medical staff. Warden Indalecio Ramos - who referred Reuters' outbreak-related questions to ICE and the GEO Group, which owns the facility - said in a Feb. 7 email that quarantining detainees would prevent them from attending their immigration court hearings. decided not to quarantine 40 new arrivals from Tallahatchie County Correctional Facility in Mississippi, despite concerns raised by the medical staff. Warden Indalecio Ramos - who referred Reuters' outbreak-related questions to ICE and the GEO Group, which owns the facility - said in a Feb. 7 email that quarantining detainees would prevent them from attending their immigration court hearings.

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