[Baltimore Sun] Lawsuit blames Biden administration for drug-resistant tuberculosis case
Read Time:2 Minute, 22 Second
Louisiana is suing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and various agencies after state officials said an undocumented Chinese immigrant may have exposed hundreds of people to a “rare, aggressive, and drug-resistant form of tuberculosis.”
The infected individual crossed the southern border in California and was sent to a federal facility in Louisiana, according to Governor Jeff Landry.
In a press release, Attorney General Liz Murrill claimed that the immigrant was exposed to hundreds of detainees and non-detainees — the lawsuit stated it was over 200 detainees.
According to the prosecutor, the state was made aware of the positive case for a drug-resistant form of tuberculosis on Oct. 9.
Benjamin Aguinaga, who works for the Attorney General of Louisiana, said during a call on Oct. 15, Murrill demanded assurance from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials not to release potentially infected detainees from facilities without medical clearance by the Department of Health.
He alleged that ICE refused on the call and in an email to comply with Murrill’s request.
State officials said in a news conference Wednesday they are “working tirelessly to ensure that this crisis is contained.” Murrill stated she was working with the government, the surgeon general and other Department of Health officials to create an action plan for stopping the spread of the disease.
The emergency lawsuit filed on Tuesday asks for potentially exposed individuals to be medically cleared before they are allowed to leave ICE’s holding facilities.
The suit seeks an immediate temporary restraining order, and then a preliminary and permanent injunction, preventing ICE and its contract facilities from releasing any detainees unless and until the Louisiana Department of Health has medically cleared that detainee.
If the court deems it necessary, the suit asks for an order to the CDC to immediately show cause why it should not issue an order pursuant to Title 42 of the U.S. Code, requiring the isolation and/or quarantine of detainees at the two contract facilities unless and until they are medically cleared by the Louisiana Department of Health.
The lawsuit also alleges that the type of tuberculosis that the immigrant is infected with “carries a high mortality rate.”
Murrill said in a statement that the Biden administration has put the health and safety of Americans at risk through its border policies.
On Wednesday, Landry assured that there was no danger to the public.
“We’re in a good place. We have dodged a bullet this time; we have utilized the justice system to ensure that we can continue to protect the public. What we’re dealing with is a form of drug-resistant tuberculosis, and again, this time we have no indication that the public is in any danger,” said Landry.
Content from The National Desk is provided by Sinclair, the parent company of FOX45 News.
Happy
0 %
Sad
0 %
Excited
0 %
Sleepy
0 %
Angry
0 %
Surprise
0 %
0
0