Louisiana officials have reported that a Chinese woman who illegally entered the United States has contracted a rare and highly fatal drug-resistant form of tuberculosis. As she was transferred between multiple border facilities, hundreds of detainees and staff were exposed to the risk of infection.
On Wednesday, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill stated that to prevent the spread of the disease, they requested the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) not to release potentially infected detainees without approval from the Louisiana Department of Health, a request which was denied by ICE. Consequently, they filed an emergency lawsuit and obtained a temporary restraining order from the court.
The defendants in the Louisiana lawsuit include U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and various border agencies. Louisiana argues that ICE’s insistence on releasing potentially infected individuals in the face of a public health crisis would violate the Tenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and Louisiana’s sovereignty.
According to the court documents, the Chinese woman is suffering from a rare, invasive, drug-resistant form of tuberculosis with a high fatality rate once infected.
Republican Governor Landry reassured reporters that contacts were limited to within the detention centers, and there was no risk of infection to the general public.
Landry said, “We dodged a bullet this time. We used the judicial system to ensure that we can continue to protect the public.”
The infected detainee is an illegal immigrant from China who entered the U.S. unlawfully in July through the southern border and was apprehended by California immigration officials. That same month, she was transported with around 100 other detainees to Alexandria, Louisiana, and later, about 40 individuals including her were taken by bus to the ICE detention facility in Richwood.
After showing symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis, she was sent to a hospital on July 23 for a chest X-ray which indicated possible open tuberculosis. However, she was eventually returned to the detention center with only general respiratory illness precautions taken.
Three days later, despite worsening symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis, she was moved to the ICE processing center in Basile, where she awaited release.
In an interview with USA Today, Louisiana Attorney General Murrill mentioned that it wasn’t until September 17 that state officials became aware of her potential infection, prompting an investigation by the state health department. It was confirmed that the patient had contracted extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (XDR-TB).
XDR-TB is much more severe than regular tuberculosis, highly resistant to first and second-line anti-tuberculosis drugs, difficult to treat, and has a high fatality rate. Some studies suggest mortality rates between 34% and 39%.
Soon after, officials issued orders for ICE to detain individuals until approval for release was granted by the health department, a request which ICE refused.
According to the lawsuit, between August and September, approximately 174 detainees at the Basile processing center may have come into contact with the Chinese woman.
Governor Landry stated, “We have a border full of holes, an unexamined border. We are letting diseased people into this country, despite the efforts of this country’s healthcare system to eliminate these diseases.”
The lawsuit seeks both temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent ICE from releasing detainees until they undergo medical examinations.
It also requests the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to intervene as needed, isolating and quarantining individuals at the Richwood and Basile facilities in line with protocols followed during the COVID-19 pandemic.