The state has been granted a temporary restraining order to cease the transfer and release of ICE detainees who were potentially exposed to tuberculosis, until they are medically cleared by state health.
Elizabeth Jordan, a visiting assistant professor and Director of the Immigration Clinic at the Sturm College of Law at the University of Denver, said holding someone who’s legally authorized for release is an issue.
“That raises questions of due process and the right to be free from an unlawful procedure, so I think they’re probably concerned about their liability to continue holding other people in the detention center without authorization,” said Jordan.
Jordan said there’s also a question if the state’s authority to protect public health supersedes a detainee’s right to be released.
“The allegations in Louisiana’s lawsuit really makes clear the kind of inherent public health difficulties that immigration detention, and any kind of detention in a carceral setting, exposes,” said Jordan.
According to the CDC’s website, “medical screenings should be initiated and completed as soon as possible to ensure that ongoing and emergent health needs are addressed and new arrivals are connected with appropriate follow-up care.” TB is listed among the diseases in the Domestic Refugee Health Screening Guidance.
Louisiana Surgeon General Ralph Abraham explained that TB is not easy to screen and the disease can be latent.
“But if we get a negative test, and we know they’ve had exposure, we want to retest that patient before we as doctors say they are good to go. That’s where we are running into some issues,” said Abraham.
The lawsuit claims the detainee has been in Louisiana since July and the Louisiana Department of Health was notified of their diagnosis Oct. 9.
On the social media platform X, Gov. Jeff Landry used his campaign account to criticize Vice President Kamala Harris over the lawsuit.
“Our Border Czar Kamala has let disease, criminals and drugs flow through our border. And now a rare form of TB in Louisiana. We need Donald Trump to close our borders to prevent the next public health crisis,” the post said.
Landry said how this detainee was able to expose others to TB is a question for the federal government.
“We have dodged a bullet this time. We have utilized the justice system to ensure that we can continue to protect the public,” said Landry.
In Louisiana, an individual with TB can only be held in quarantine if they refuse treatment. Abraham said the detainee is receiving proper medical care.
Jordan said it’s not a cut and dry case.
“This question of who has kind of priority here, state health officers for the State of Louisiana or ICE and federal and immigration authorities, I’ve never seen a lawsuit like this before,” said Jordan.
The lawsuit said as many as 200 detainees could have been exposed.
In an unrelated case an inmate at the Dixon Correctional Center in East Feliciana Parish has tested positive for TB.
