Texas ICE detention facility put under lockdown due to measles outbreak: DHS

DILLEY, TEXAS: Operations at an Immigration and Customs (ICE) detention center in Texas have been halted, with nobody allowed inside or outside the facility.

The lockdown was imposed after two detainees were confirmed of having "active measles infections,” the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said on Sunday, February 1.

Texas' Dilley Immigration Processing Center under lockdown

The Dilley Immigration Processing Center, a large family‑oriented immigration detention facility in Texas, is the one where the lockdown has been initiated.

The cases at the facility, run by the private‑prison firm CoreCivic under contract with ICE, were confirmed on Friday, January 30.

It's the same facility where five-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were housed.

Steps taken to control infection: DHS

In a statement, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said, “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 spokesperson also noted that “appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection” have been taken by medical officials.

She went on to add that “all detainees are being provided with proper medical care.”

Neha Desai, a lawyer for the California-based National Center of Youth Law, which represents children in immigration detention, has, however, expressed concern about the detainees’ mental health.

She said, “In the meantime, we are deeply concerned for the physical and the mental health of every family detained at Dilley. It is important to remember that no family needs to be detained — this is a choice that the administration is making.”

Liam Conejo Ramos, father released from detention facility

Meanwhile, the Trump administration faced widespread criticism following the detention of Ramos and his father, asylum seekers. The father-son duo was taken into custody on January 20.

However, they were eventually released after a federal judge in Texas ordered on Saturday, January 31, that “any possible or anticipated removal or transfer of Petitioners under this present detention is prohibited.”

Conejo Arias, who is originally from Ecuador, told ABC News, that he’s “happy to finally be going home. Liam is very happy to be going back. He's going to see his mom and his brother again.”