Inhumane ICE Detention Center Practices Create Ideal Conditions for TB

Contact: adam.ortega@treatmentactiongroup.org

New York, September 4, 2026 – Treatment Action Group (TAG) calls for immediate provision of tuberculosis (TB) prevention and care, access to robust healthcare services, and healthy living conditions for all those held in detention by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and for the unencumbered access to ICE facilities by state and local health authorities, who need access to monitor the outbreak and ensure provision of appropriate treatment and prevention.

Recent reports of a TB outbreak amongst 12 detainees at an ICE Detention Facility in Aurora, Colorado underscore how ICE practices risk the health of detained individuals and the community at large. TB-exposed individuals at the Aurora facility report that those affected have not been separated from unaffected individuals — heightening the risk of further spread within the facility. The facility’s refusal to cooperate with Colorado’s public health agencies is of grave concern to TAG. [1]

In the two decades since ICE was established, it has operated with increasing impunity — detaining and deporting individuals without due process [2], separating families, and targeting immigrant communities with ever-increasing violence and cruelty. [3]

Incarceration is a well-known risk factor for developing TB, with TB incidence 10 times higher in incarcerated individuals than the broader public. [4] The risk of TB is exacerbated by the inhumane conditions of ICE detention centers characterized by overcrowding, high turnover, and systemic failures of facility health services. [5, 6] Immigrants detained at sites in Florida have described long periods without food, water, or toilets, and being ignored or denied access to medical care — all conditions that contribute to weakened health and increased susceptibility to disease. [7] Reports from other detention centers in Florida and New Jersey describe facility staff denying individuals with chronic conditions their prescribed care or access to doctors – in some cases resulting in emergency surgery or even death. [8, 9]

ICE’s refusal to cooperate with state and local public health agencies makes it difficult to determine how many people in the Aurora ICE Processing Center have developed active TB and how many have been exposed as close contacts. This makes it impossible for local and state TB programs to do their job and protect the health of those detained and the public. The outbreak of TB in the Aurora ICE Processing Center facility is neither unexpected nor unique. We should anticipate more TB outbreaks in ICE detention facilities. The risks are especially great for detainees living with chronic conditions like HIV or diabetes.

According to anonymous detainee reports, testing turned up additional cases of TB but did not result in any measures to prevent transmission among people in the same detention “pod”; instead, everyone in the pod was informed they would be quarantined together regardless of test results. In order to meet current U.S. and global guidelines for TB testing for close contacts of a person with TB, initial testing should be part of a full medical evaluation including: symptom screening; confirmatory diagnosis for positive tests through sputum culture, when possible; and drug resistance testing. In the absence of these measures, test results and any subsequent treatment are often far less accurate and effective. This shows why for-profit companies cannot be allowed to operate without public oversight, or preempt public health authorities from carrying out their lawful duties.

ICE’s abuse of individuals in detention—including withholding of necessary medications, physical abuse, and solitary confinement—exposes the agency’s complete disregard for basic human rights and health. [10] This violence is not new; ICE’s actions reflect a long history of public health being wielded as a tool in immigration enforcement, rather than being recognized as an autonomous partner, that dates back to the foundations of the United States.

We cannot end HIV, TB, and HCV without building a society where everyone has access to the care they need and without dismantling the systems that criminalize migration. Providing care for all, especially those ripped from their communities and existing healthcare, is not a radical demand nor is abolishing ICE; they are necessary steps toward protecting human life, achieving real health justice, and ending the HIV, TB, and HCV epidemics. Further, TAG calls for the permanent and timely abolition of ICE and its cruel practice of detaining individuals in conditions that not only cause poor health but are inhumane writ large. [11]

TAG stands with immigrant communities, healthcare workers, abolitionists, and activists demanding an end to this violent agency and its practice of detention and deportation. We call for the creation of systems rooted in dignity, safety, human rights, and public health and the end of systems designed to terrorize and harm communities.

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About TAG: Treatment Action Group (TAG) is an independent, activist and community-based research and policy think tank fighting for better treatment, prevention, a vaccine, and a cure for HIV, tuberculosis, and hepatitis C virus. TAG works to ensure that all people with HIV, TB, and HCV receive lifesaving treatment, care, and information. We are science-based treatment activists working to expand and accelerate vital research and effective community engagement with research and policy institutions.

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