Louisiana has filed a lawsuit against Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas after an illegal immigrant from China tested positive for a rare, drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (TB). Governor Jeff Landry and Attorney General Liz Murrill announced the lawsuit, claiming that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) failed to properly isolate the individual, potentially exposing over 200 detainees and staff at two ICE facilities.
The unnamed Chinese national, referred to as “patient zero,” crossed illegally into the U.S. via California in July and was later transported to Louisiana. After showing TB symptoms, she was transferred between facilities before being released into the general population at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile. The Louisiana Department of Health confirmed her positive diagnosis on October 9.
Governor Landry expressed serious concerns about public health, stating, “We have dodged a bullet this time. It’s a wake-up call that we need to do more to protect our citizens.” He emphasized the need for stricter measures, noting that “an open, porous border puts our communities at risk.”
Attorney General Murrill is seeking temporary and permanent injunctions to prevent ICE from releasing detainees without medical clearance, arguing that federal officials have ignored requests for isolation until assessed by the Louisiana Department of Health. She stated, “The health and safety of our citizens must come first. We cannot allow federal negligence to jeopardize our communities.”
The lawsuit claims that the federal government's handling of the case has created an "emergency situation." In response, ICE spokesperson Jeff Carter stated that the agency follows comprehensive public health protocols and is actively monitoring the situation. “ICE has robust screening and management procedures in place to address communicable diseases,” Carter added.
This legal action underscores the ongoing tensions between state and federal authorities over immigration and public health management. A temporary restraining order has been granted, preventing the release of detainees from the two facilities until a preliminary hearing next week. As Landry concluded, “We must hold the federal government accountable for its actions that endanger the public’s health.”