The US already had 580+ measles cases this year. Now it’s inside ICE detention.

Two detainees test positive at Dilley

The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed on Jan. 31, 2026, that two detainees at the Dilley Immigration Processing Center have active measles infections.

ICE halted all movement within the facility and quarantined anyone who may have had contact with those infected. Medical staff are monitoring the detainees and working to prevent further spread.

The Department of Homeland Security announced the outbreak publicly on Feb. 2, 2026.

Dilley holds up to 2400 people

The South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley can hold up to 2,400 people, making it the largest family detention center in the country.

The facility sits about 70 miles southwest of San Antonio and houses migrant families, including parents and children.

Private prison company CoreCivic operates the center under a contract worth about $160 million per year. The facility first opened in December 2014.

Trump administration reopened closed facility

The Biden administration closed the Dilley facility in June 2024 because of high operating costs. Biden had also ended the practice of detaining families together.

The Trump administration reopened the facility in March 2025, and CoreCivic signed a new five-year contract with ICE to resume operations. Workers retrofitted the facility to again house children alongside their parents.

Boy and father released before announcement

Liam Conejo Ramos, age 5, and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, had been held at Dilley.

A federal judge ordered their release on Saturday, Feb. 1, 2026, and they flew from San Antonio to Minneapolis the next day. Rep. Joaquin Castro escorted them home.

Officials have not said whether the family had contact with the infected detainees before leaving the facility.

Boys detention sparked national outcry

ICE detained Liam and his father in Columbia Heights, Minnesota, on Jan. 20, 2026. Images of the boy wearing a blue bunny hat and a Spider-Man backpack went viral across social media.

The family came from Ecuador and had a pending asylum case.

Judge Fred Biery criticized the detention as driven by “daily deportation quotas,” while ICE said it did not target or arrest a child.

Congressional visit canceled after outbreak

Rep. Joaquin Castro had planned to bring 10 members of Congress to inspect the Dilley facility on February 6. The visit was canceled after ICE reported the measles cases.

Castro and his staff had visited the facility earlier in the week, and his office said all staff members who went were vaccinated.

Immigration attorneys had raised concerns about conditions at the facility before the outbreak.

ICE detention population nears 70000

ICE is currently holding more than 70,000 people facing deportation, up from about 40,000 a year ago. This is the highest detention population in modern American history.

The Trump administration aims to detain up to 100,000 people, and ICE received $45 billion in new funding to expand detention capacity across the country.

U.S. had most measles cases since 1992

The United States confirmed 2,267 measles cases in 2025, the highest annual total since 1992. Health officials reported 49 outbreaks during the year, and three people died from measles.

The majority of cases occurred in unvaccinated individuals.

A measles outbreak in West Texas began in late January 2025 and infected 762 people before ending in August.

West Texas outbreak killed two children

The West Texas outbreak hospitalized 99 people, and two school-aged children died. The outbreak hit communities with low vaccination rates especially hard.

So far in 2026, measles cases are surging again. As of January 29, the CDC reported 588 confirmed cases nationwide, the highest January total since 2000. Seventeen states have reported cases this year.

South Carolina leads current outbreaks

South Carolina has the largest current outbreak with more than 800 cases. Most cases are tied to ongoing outbreaks in undervaccinated communities across the country.

During the 2024-2025 school year, 92.5 percent of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, down from 95.2 percent in 2019-2020. Two doses of the vaccine are 97 percent effective against measles.

Families remain detained during outbreak

Columbia Heights Public Schools said four other students from the district are being held at Dilley. The facility currently holds more than 1,000 families.

Advocates have alleged poor medical care and harsh conditions at the center, and a lawsuit filed in 2025 described inadequate treatment for detained children.

Immigration attorneys say they are concerned about the health of detainees during the outbreak.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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