OAN Staff Brooke Mallory
3:37 PM – Thursday, October 24, 2024
After discovering that a Chinese foreign national with a rare, drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis illegally entered the country before eventually being transported to the state, Louisiana officials filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas.
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The Chinese national was moved around in migrant detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, resulting in interaction with at least 200 other detainees and staff, Republican Governor Jeff Landry and Republican Attorney General Liz Murrill stated on Wednesday.
The officials claimed that despite their efforts to isolate the case, ICE disregarded their requests to hold other inmates until the Louisiana Department of Health gave its approval, which could have very easily resulted in the disease spreading.
“We have dodged a bullet this time, we have utilized the justice system to ensure that we can continue to protect the public,” Landry assured reporters on Wednesday.
The lawsuit claims that in July, the Chinese national illegally crossed into the United States through the border, going into California. Later that month, she was transported by plane to an ICE facility in Louisiana along with about 100 other detainees.
After exhibiting some symptoms of tuberculosis, the patient was tested for the disease and moved to two different facilities before coming back to the Richwood detention camp.
The Chinese illegal was then brought to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile and released into the general population three days later, despite the fact that her TB symptoms were getting worse. Positive results on her condition were not received by Louisiana Department of Health officials until October 9th.
The lawsuit claims that shortly after, authorities ordered ICE to keep detainees in facilities until the Department of Health approved their release, but the agency disregarded the order.
“This particular patient has a very resistant strain of tuberculosis,” Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham told the press. “It is the only case in Louisiana, and we normally do not see a case such as this except from a foreign country.”
Since ICE chose to “ignore” Louisiana officials and still release others who might have come into contact with the infected foreign national, the governor and attorney general still have an array of questions for the federal government.
“[We have] an open porous border, an unchecked border. We’re allowing people to come into this country with diseases that this country’s healthcare system has consistently worked to eradicate,” the governor stated.
In order to stop ICE from releasing detainees until they have received a proper medical clearance, the lawsuit seeks a temporary injunction that will eventually become permanent.
Additionally, it requests that the CDC take action if necessary by implementing Title 42, the COVID-19 pandemic regulation that mandates isolation and/or quarantine for individuals residing in the Richwood and Basile facilities.
ICE spokesperson Jeff Carter responded to the lawsuit by stating that the agency was still keeping an eye on the matter.
“ICE has comprehensive public health requirements to ensure its detention centers comply with CDC guidelines and mitigate any potential public health concerns, including screening for and managing communicable diseases,” Carter said in a statement. “Diagnosis and treatment protocols are informed by current medical guidance, reviewed routinely, and implemented in collaboration with federal, state, and local health officials.”
Last year, House Committee on Homeland Security Chairman Mark E. Green (R-Tenn.) delivered remarks during a full committee hearing that launched a probe into Mayorkas’ dereliction of duty, according to the committee.
“In just over two years under Secretary Mayorkas, more people have entered our country illegally than in the 12 years of the Obama and Trump administrations combined. This includes: More than 5.2 million apprehensions at the Southwest border; More than 6.1 million apprehensions factoring in America’s northern and maritime borders; and at least 1.5 million known gotaways—illegal aliens who slip across our border without being caught and are now at large in the United States.This should terrify every American,” Green highlighted.
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