Two more Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities in Arizona are keeping some detainees quarantined for possible measles exposure after a third facility reported multiple cases of the extremely contagious virus.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security confirmed there are seven active measles cases among ICE detainees at the Florence Service Processing Center.
“ICE Health Services Corps immediately took steps to quarantine and control further spread and infection, ceasing all movement within the facility and quarantining all individuals suspected of making contact with the infected,” DHS said in a statement to KJZZ.
All in-person visitation for non-legal purposes is currently suspended at the Florence detention center, according to DHS.
An unspecified number of ICE detainees are also under quarantine at the Eloy Detention Center and Central Arizona Florence Correctional Complex, according to CoreCivic, a private company that owns those sites.
“We do have several individuals who are currently under quarantine due to possible exposures prior to their arrival at our facilities,” Ryan Gustin, senior director of public affairs for CoreCivic, told KJZZ via email. “Visitation restrictions at each facility are limited to only those individuals who may be under quarantine protocols.”
Gustin said there were no active measles cases at either of the two CoreCivic sites as of Thursday.
All three ICE facilities are in Pinal County. Arizona Department of Health Services data shows Pinal County has added 11 new measles cases over the past three weeks. In the same time period, just two measles cases have been added in the rest of the state.
In a statement to KJZZ, the Pinal County Public Health Services District said there is currently no community spread of measles in Pinal County and risk to the general public remains low.
“In terms of spreading to the community beyond the facility, the biggest risk would be the contractors and the ICE staff that are in and out of the building,” said Will Humble, executive director of the Arizona Public Health Association. “They’re going into the community, they’re going to grocery stores, they’re in the community after work.”
This is the second time this year DHS has reported measles cases in its Arizona facilities. Three cases had been reported in federal custody in the state in February. Multiple ICE facilities in Texas have also reported measles outbreaks in 2026.
“Those ICE detention facilities are a super challenging environment for especially things like measles, because it’s just so contagious,” Humble said. “You have rapid turnover of people in a congregate setting with lots of shared air, and my understanding is that they have very limited vaccination records to know who’s unvaccinated.”
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases known. The virus can linger in the air for two hours after an infected person coughs or sneezes. And the virus will infect 90% of unvaccinated people who come in contact with it.
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