U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has ceased “all movement” at a detention center for families in Texas after two measles cases were confirmed at the facility, the Department of Homeland Security said.
Two people detained at the South Texas Family Residential Center have “active measles infections,” Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told USA TODAY on Sunday, Feb. 1. The South Texas Family Residential Center is an ICE detention center in Dilley, a small town over 70 miles southwest of San Antonio.
The Texas Department of State Health Services confirmed the measles cases on Saturday, Jan. 31, and ICE quarantined the two detainees and those suspected of exposure to the detainees, according to McLaughlin.
“ICE Health Services Corps immediately took steps to quarantine and control further spread and infection, ceasing all movement within the facility and quarantining all individuals suspected of making contact with the infected,” McLaughlin said in a statement.
McLaughlin added that the detainees were being monitored by medical personnel and taking “appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection.”
The measles cases in Texas come after three cases of measles were confirmed among immigration detainees in Arizona last week. The potential outbreak also comes as human rights organizations and migrants in detention centers across the United States describe sick children and a lack of health care resources, along with other poor conditions, inside facilities.
Sick children, no doctors. Life for immigrant families in detention.
Texas detention facility under heightened scrutiny
The South Texas Family Residential Center has been under increased scrutiny for holding immigrant families with children. The facility has also faced numerous allegations of unsafe and unsanitary conditions.
The DHS has denied claims of poor conditions at the facility and defended its operation.
“The Dilley Detention Center is retrofitted for families. Adults with children are housed in facilities that provide for their safety, security, and medical needs,” the agency previously told USA TODAY. “ICE is regularly audited and inspected by external agencies to ensure that all ICE facilities comply with performance-based national detention standards.”
Those being held at the facility have no criminal record, and many include families who were going through the legal immigration process when they were detained. In January, the detention center made national headlines and drew further criticism after 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, asylum seeker Adrian Conejo Arias, were sent to the facility.
Conejo and his son were detained by immigration agents in Minnesota on Jan. 20. Liam became one of the symbols of the Trump administration’s immigration raids after photos circulated on social media showing the 5-year-old being detained in the driveway of his home as he wore a blue bunny hat.
A judge ordered the release of Conejo and his son on Saturday, Jan. 31, and they were returned to Minnesota on Sunday, Feb. 1, USA TODAY reported.
ICE says it provides ‘proper meals.’ Detainees see crystalized jelly, rancid beans and iced bologna
Measles cases reached record high in US last year
The United States surpassed 2,000 cases of measles, one of the most contagious infectious diseases, in 2025 — the highest number of cases in 30 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Last year, a total of 2,255 confirmed measles cases were reported across the country, CDC data shows. Among those, 2,230 cases were recorded in 44 states, while 25 cases were reported among international visitors to the United States.
West Texas was the epicenter of measles cases in the United States in 2025, with more than 760 cases confirmed by August. State health officials later declared that same month that the outbreak had ended. The outbreak resulted in three deaths, including two children.
Health officials are also still responding to an outbreak in parts of Utah and Arizona. On Jan. 27, health officials in South Carolina reported nearly 800 measles cases, overtaking the West Texas outbreak.
Contributing: Rick Jervis, Lauren Villagran, Amanda Lee Myers, and Kate Perez, USA TODAY; Stephanie Innes, The Arizona Republic
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE halts ‘all movement’ at Texas detention center due to measles
