Measles cases identified at ICE’s largest detention facility for children
Two detainees at the nation’s main immigrant family detention center, in Dilley, Texas, have tested positive for measles, authorities said, alarming lawmakers and attorneys who fear the virus could spread in the crowded facility.
The active cases were confirmed by the Texas Department of State Health Services on Jan. 31. The Department of Homeland Security said officials at the South Texas Family Residential Center moved to quarantine anyone who had made contact with the two people and took steps to limit movement of those inside the facility, which is about 70 miles south of San Antonio.
“Medical staff is continuing to monitor the detainees’ conditions and will take appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection,” DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement. “All detainees are being provided with proper medical care.”
McLaughlin did not say how the detainees were exposed, whether any other potential cases are under investigation, or how many of the approximately 1,100 detainees in the facility — which include adults and children — have been vaccinated.
The Trump administration’s oversight of the Dilley facility has faced intensifying scrutiny from lawmakers, immigrant rights groups and the public as the number of families held in detention has spiked in recent months.
Rep. Joaquín Castro (D-Texas) and other Democrats have pressed the administration for answers after visiting the facility and learning of the measles cases. Public health officials have reported measles cases in other immigration detention facilities as well, including in Arizona, raising alarms about the risks of contagious disease spreading in overcrowded settings at a time when measles infections are rising across the country.
Eric Lee, an immigration attorney who represents a family at Dilley, questioned whether federal authorities had effectively implemented prevention measures once the infections were discovered.
On Feb. 1, he said, families were placed on lockdown without being told that two people had been infected. Lee said he learned of the infections from Castro’s office and relayed the information to his clients. They told him that detention center authorities had not inquired about their vaccination status or offered vaccines. They also said detainees have since resumed using shared indoor spaces, with limited time outdoors amid cold weather in South Texas.
“They’re not being told anything, and they are not being offered any sort of protective measures,” Lee said. “And it’s important to point out that this is not just a detention conditions issue — it’s a public health issue generally.”
High vaccination rates and rapid outbreak response led to measles being officially eliminated from the U.S. in 2000. Declining rates amid a rise in vaccine hesitancy have begun to fuel large and more frequent measles outbreaks, health experts said.
There with more than 2,260 cases reported nationwide in 2025, the most in more than three decades. The infections have largely spread through the unvaccinated populations, with a recent outbreak in South Carolina and a large outbreak last year in Texas. Cases were reported across 44 states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and resulted in more than 200 hospitalizations and three deaths, including those of two otherwise healthy children in Texas and a man in New Mexico.
More than 580 cases — including 17 hospitalizations — have been tallied so far this year, according to CDC data.
Measles can cause a high fever, cough and rash and can lead to fatal pneumonia, damage to the immune system and long-term complications, especially in young children. Experts said the illness is among the most contagious infectious diseases, and outbreaks can spread quickly in congregate settings when vaccination levels are uncertain.
The disease is especially risky in detention centers, where poor ventilation and crowded conditions accelerate its spread, said Jeanne Marrazzo, CEO of the Infectious Diseases Society of America. People without antibodies are likely to get infected nine times out of 10 if exposed, she said, and they can remain contagious for several days before and after a rash appears.
Some detainees may have had limited access to health care before entering the detention center, including routine vaccinations, or may not know their immunization history, she said.
“I can’t think of a better incubation environment for transmission of measles than a detention facility,” Marrazzo said.
In Pinal County, south of Phoenix, at least three individuals have contracted measles this year, all cases connected to people in federal custody, according to a county health department spokeswoman.
Citing privacy laws, the Pinal health department declined to name any federal facility where the measles cases might have originated, and it characterized the risk to the public health as low.
Detainees at the Florence Service Processing Center in Florence, Arizona, told immigrant rights advocates that the facility had been subject to quarantines and detainees were required to wear masks at all times except while eating, said Anna Keating, an advocate in Phoenix who has spoken with two detainees. Keating voiced concern that visitors, ICE employees and catering staff could also spread the virus without proper precautions.
“They’re still doing deportations,” she said. “Are we sending this all around the world?”
ICE’s ability to provide medical care for immigrants in federal custody was disrupted in October when the Department of Veterans Affairs canceled a long-standing contract to process health care claims for detainees who require treatment outside ICE facilities.
Though ICE reimbursed the VA for the claims, Republican lawmakers accused the agency, during the Biden administration, of using money intended for veterans and demanded that the VA end its relationship with ICE.
On Oct. 31, ICE said in a solicitation posted online that it was seeking an emergency contract with another provider. The agency said the VA’s decision to terminate its contract “has created an emergency” and noted that its ability to deliver vaccines could be put in jeopardy.
In the document, ICE called vaccines “a vital component of preventative healthcare,” and said the agency has “an unusual and compelling need to rapidly reinstate support so IAs [undocumented immigrants] can continue receiving vaccines.”
ICE entered into a contract on Dec. 17 with FFF Enterprises Inc., a California-based company, worth up to $616,000 to provide vaccine services through June 16, 2026, according to federal records.
McLaughlin played down any potential disruptions for vaccines or other medical care. “As we transitioned contracts, there was no gaps in medical care — including access to necessary vaccines, which are being provided,” she said.
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• Lena H. Sun and Aaron Schaffer contributed.