Two people detained at an immigration detention center in Dilley, Texas, were confirmed to have active measles infections, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS said on Sunday the ICE Health Services Corp “immediately” took steps to quarantine the detainees to “control further spread and infection.”
The agency said all movement within the facility has ceased and all individuals suspected of making contact with those infected are quarantined.
The facility, the South Texas Family Residential Center, was where 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Arias, were being held before a judge ordered their release on Saturday.
The father and son arrived back in Minneapolis on Sunday.
The news of the measles cases at the detention facility comes as at least 588 measles cases have been confirmed so far this year across the United States, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Signs point the way to measles testing in the parking lot of the Seminole Hospital District across from Wigwam Stadium, Feb. 27, 2025, in Seminole, Texas.
Jan Sonnenmair/Getty Images
The U.S. has seen more cases in about one month than is typically recorded in an entire year.
Across the U.S., at least 17 states have reported measles cases this year, including Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Kentucky, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.
Almost all cases are tied to ongoing outbreaks in pockets of undervaccinated or unvaccinated communities.
The CDC currently recommends that people receive two doses of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine, the first at ages 12 to 15 months and the second between 4 and 6 years old. One dose is 93% effective, and two doses are 97% effective against measles, the CDC says.
However, federal data shows vaccination rates have been lagging in recent years. During the 2024-2025 school year, 92.5% of kindergartners received the MMR vaccine, according to data. This is lower than the 92.7% seen in the previous school year and the 95.2% seen in the 2019-2020 school year, before the COVID-19 pandemic.
ABC News’ Youri Benadjaoud and Mary Kekatos contributed to this report.