The state of Louisiana is suing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and various agencies over illegal Chinese immigrants who may have exposed hundreds of people in the state to a rare, drug-resistant tuberculosis disease.
Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry and State Attorney General Liz Murrill said Wednesday that the unnamed immigrant was being moved through various facilities in the state by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), along with at least 200 other detainees and employees. He said people may have been arrested.
The suit says the Chinese national has tuberculosis, a rare, aggressive and drug-resistant form of tuberculosis that has a high mortality rate.
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Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, who was the state’s attorney general at the time, speaks during a hearing of the Federal Subcommittee on Weapons on Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Washington, DC. (Getty Images)
State officials have been working to prevent the spread of the virus, but ICE has called for detainees to be held until medical tests are completed by the Louisiana Department of Health.
“This time we dodged a bullet. We used the justice system to continue to protect our people,” Landry told reporters Wednesday.
In addition to Mayorkas, the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, and several detention facilities are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Fox News Digital has reached out to both agencies.
According to the complaint, the Chinese illegally entered California through the southern border in July. They were then flown to Alexandria, Louisiana, along with 100 other detainees. They were then transferred by bus to another facility with more detainees.
The patient was tested for tuberculosis, transferred to two other facilities, and returned to the Richwood Jail. They were released into the general population at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basil in August even though they had symptoms of tuberculosis, according to the complaint.
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Biopsy Request – Tuberculosis (iStock)
Of the 174 detainees who had contact with the patient, 60 were deported, transferred, relocated, or released from the Basile facility.
On October 9, Louisiana Department of Health officials received positive results regarding their condition. The Basil facility isolated dormitories where Chinese immigrants were being held and tested inmates in those dormitories for drug-resistant tuberculosis. All results were negative.
“This patient has a highly resistant strain of tuberculosis,” said Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham. “This is the only case in Louisiana, and we don’t typically see cases like this unless they’re from overseas.”
He said the patient had been “well treated” and was currently “asymptomatic” but was still receiving medication.
ICE spokesperson Jeff Carter told Fox News Digital that the agency has “ensure that our detention facilities comply with CDC guidelines and mitigate potential public health concerns, including infectious disease testing and control.” He said there are public health requirements.
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Louisiana authorities say an undocumented Chinese immigrant has tested positive for a rare form of tuberculosis. (St. Petersburg)
“Diagnostic and treatment protocols are based on the latest medical guidance, regularly reviewed and implemented in collaboration with federal, state and local health authorities,” Carter said in a statement. “Continued and continuous contact tracing practices will ensure early detection and appropriate action in the event a non-national in ICE custody is diagnosed with a suspected infectious disease. Whenever anticipated, we will work with federal, state, and local health authorities to ensure that we take both the continued care of individuals and ensure that public health concerns are addressed. ”
Landry noted that as Louisiana’s attorney general, he warned that an “open and porous border” could lead to an influx of people infected with diseases that U.S. health officials are working to eradicate. .
“We are consistently seeing additional cases of measles, mumps and now rare forms of tuberculosis,” he said. “This is the type of crisis that happens when you let people into the country without restrictions.”
Attorney General Murrill said in a statement that the Biden administration is putting the health and safety of Americans at risk through its border policies.
Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a briefing at the White House on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, in Washington. Louisiana is suing Mr. Mayorkas and various federal agencies after an illegal Chinese immigrant allegedly exposed hundreds of people to a rare strain of tuberculosis while in custody. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
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“Securing our southern border is a top priority for America’s security, and it is neither political nor unreasonable that Louisiana has repeatedly asked the Biden-Harris administration to protect our country,” Murrill said. “People who are not in this country legally should not be in this country. Millions of illegal aliens continue to flow across our southern border, unidentified and untraceable. They are not being tested for diseases that could threaten the lives of Americans.”
