In a recent legal development, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry, alongside Attorney General Liz Murrill, has filed a lawsuit against Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The suit stems from an incident involving a Chinese illegal immigrant diagnosed with a rare, drug-resistant strain of tuberculosis (TB), who was held in a Louisiana detention facility, potentially exposing over 200 individuals to the disease.

Governor Landry explained that, despite the state’s efforts to mitigate tuberculosis transmission, ICE insisted on continuing to detain illegal immigrants until they had passed health screenings conducted by the Louisiana Department of Health. “This time we managed to dodge a bullet; through the judicial system, we ensure the continued protection of public safety,” he stated.

The lawsuit alleges that the Chinese national entered California illegally from the southern border in July, then traveled with hundreds of detainees to Alexandria, Louisiana, before being transferred to another facility with a higher detainee count. After testing for tuberculosis, the individual was moved to two additional facilities and later returned to the Richwood detention center. Despite exhibiting symptoms of TB, some detainees were released in August from the ICE facility in Basile, Louisiana, where they could potentially interact with the general public.

From the 174 detainees who had contact with the infected individual, 60 have since been deported, transferred from the Basile ICE facility, relocated, or released.

Officials from the Louisiana Department of Health received positive test results for these individuals on October 9. The Basile facility quarantined the dormitory where the Chinese national stayed and conducted drug-resistant TB tests on all residents, returning negative results.

Ralph Abraham, the state health department head, reported that the individual in question carried a highly resistant strain of tuberculosis, marking Louisiana’s only confirmed case to date. The patient has reportedly received “good treatment,” is currently “asymptomatic,” but continues with medication.

Governor Landry, reflecting on his time as Louisiana’s Attorney General, warned about the implications of lax border policies. “Open borders rife with loopholes will allow individuals to bring in diseases that American health officials are striving to eradicate. We are seeing more cases of measles, mumps, and now a rare form of tuberculosis,” he cautioned.

Attorney General Murrill added that the Biden administration’s border policies have jeopardized the health and safety of Americans.