For over a millennium, measles have ravaged humanity. Physicians as far back as 10th century Persia have been documenting the virus, which killed millions of children well into the 20th century. Finally, in 1963, biochemist John Enders developed the first measles vaccine, a development which virtually eradicated the virus from the US population by the year 2000.
That was then. Now the virus is back, threatening to tear through a Texas immigration detention center with a vengeance — a grim collision of Trump-era vaccine skepticism and brutal immigration enforcement that seems to perfectly encapsulate this moment in US politics.
That’s right: according to the Washington Post, two detainees at the federal immigration family detention center in Dilley, Texas have tested positive for measles.
Both cases were confirmed by the Texas Department of State Health Services on Saturday. In a statement to WaPo, the Department of Homeland Security said officers had quarantined anyone who made contact with the two individuals, and “took steps to limit movement” for everybody else.
“Medical staff is continuing to monitor the detainees’ conditions and will take appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection,” DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told the newspaper in a statement. “All detainees are being provided with proper medical care.”
Eric Lee, an immigration attorney providing counsel to a family at the facility, told WaPo that detainees were being left in the dark. Not only have DHS personnel not mentioned the positive cases, Lee explained, but they haven’t even started looking into the detainees’ vaccination status.
“They’re not being told anything, and they are not being offered any sort of protective measures,” Lee said of those being forcibly held inside. “And it’s important to point out that this is not just a detention conditions issue — it’s a public health issue generally.”
The attorney was present at the detention facility back in January, when guards abruptly ordered attorneys out following a peaceful protest staged by people in detention.
In an interview with Texas Public Radio after the fact, Lee described the detention camp as a “horrible, horrible place.” The water is “putrid” and undrinkable, he said, and detainees are served meals containing “bugs” and other debris.
“This is not a place that you would want to have your child be for even 15 minutes,” he said.
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