TB is spreading in ICE detention centers. So what's the agency's responsibility?

Tuberculosis outbreaks are causing concerns at several ICE detention facilities

A 45-year-old Ethiopian man died from TB while in custody at a detention center in Arizona

Other cases have been reported at facilities in Southern California, Alaska, Washington State, and Colorado

Straight Arrow News reached out to ICE, but we didn't hear back. And we spoke to a law professor who said the agency is responsible for detainees

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency is obligated to provide for the health care needs of anyone who is detaining

These are obviously not people who can go and seek medical care on their own

Tuberculosis kills one and a half million people worldwide every year, despite being preventable and treatable

TB has been around forever. I mean, since people were around, right

It's a very old disease. It is a bacterial infection. It is spread through the air by coughing, breathing, sneezing, singing, a lot of things

TB is preventable with a vaccine. That vaccine is often given to newborns in other countries

It not a great vaccine I would say that most people who die of TB were probably vaccinated but they were vaccinated as a baby The vaccine is not commonly used in the U in part because America only saw 11 cases last year

TB is a disease of poor people, to be honest. And so as the socioeconomic status of a country goes up, the TB rates go down

And so here we never vaccinated, at least not regularly. Conditions inside immigration detention centers are often a perfect place for a condition like TB to thrive

Among the major risk factors, being close to someone who's infected. ICE actually has its own health unit called the ICE Health Service Corps

I think that there's a question about whether ICE is complying with its own detention standards

And that in and of itself might give rise to a viable lawsuit

I wouldn't hold my breath for that. Again, the standard is so low

Courts have been very reluctant to exert much oversight. For Straight Arrow News, I'm Lauren Canan

If you want more on this story, download the Straight Arrow News app or visit san.com