Calls to shut down Texas ICE facility for children grow amid measles outbreak

At least two cases of measles have been confirmed at a major immigration detention center for children and their parents in Texas as cases of the dangerous virus in South Carolina, Arizona, Utah and other US states continue growing and alarming experts. In January alone, the US saw 25% of the total confirmed in all of last year, and the outbreak shows no sign of slowing as federal officials stay silent on vaccination. The vast majority of patients are not vaccinated, but there have been no national campaigns announced or recent statements from leaders such as Robert F Kennedy Jr, secretary of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Last year, Kennedy positioned measles vaccines as a personal choice and recommended unproven treatments for the highly contagious illness. The Dilley family detention center in south Texas, one of two immigration facilities for children in the US, reported two measles cases on Friday. Children and parents are now locked down in the facility. Joaquin Castro, a Democratic congressman from San Antonio, is calling for the detention center to be 'shut down immediately'. Dilley is not equipped to deal with the spread of measles, Castro said. South Carolina reported a total of 876 measles cases and at least 18 hospitalizations on Tuesday. Other states are also seeing continued spread, including Arizona with 239 cases and Utah with 251 cases. As of Friday, there have been 588 confirmed cases of measles in the US this year. Health systems in places like South Carolina are now setting up incident command systems, requiring face masks, and screening patients for potential contact.