EL PASO, Texas \u2014 Health officials with the City of El Paso confirmed on Thursday 17 measles cases in the area, with most of the cases being at a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility that has made headlines in recent months.<\/p>\n
What You Need To Know<\/p>\n
In a\u00a0news release<\/a>, the City of El Paso Department of Public Health confirmed four new measles cases within the city In a news release<\/a>, the City of El Paso Department of Public Health confirmed four new measles cases within the city involving a man in his 20s, a man in his 30s and two women in their 30s\u2014all with unknown vaccination statuses. The department said that about 98% of El Paso County residents are vaccinated against measles.<\/p>\n The department provided a list of eight potential exposure locations for the public to be aware of:<\/p>\n Cici\u2019s Pizza (615 N. Zaragoza) on Feb. 20 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The department asks that anyone who visited those locations during those times and develops a fever and rash to contact their health care provider for evaluation and testing.<\/p>\n The other 13 cases were reported at Camp East Montana, a tent facility on the grounds of the Fort Bliss Army base that houses detained migrants.<\/p>\n \u201cCase information for this facility is reported through federal authorities. The City is sharing this information for regional awareness and will continue coordinating with federal partners as appropriate,\u201d the city\u2019s news release said. \u201cThe City\u2019s public health laboratory has provided testing support when requested and has supplied vaccine for administration by on-site health providers as part of prevention efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n The over $1 billion detention facility opened back in August 2025, and it can hold up to 5,000 detainees.\u00a0<\/p>\n Earlier this month, El Paso city officials told Spectrum News that they were notified of cases of tuberculosis at Camp East Montana<\/a>, but Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told the Texas Tribune<\/a> that \u201cthere are no cases of tuberculosis at the El Paso ICE facility.\u201d A City of El Paso spokesperson later told the Tribune that the individuals who were diagnosed with tuberculosis were no longer being housed at the facility after being treated by ICE\u2019s medical providers.<\/p>\n Camp East Montana has experienced some backlash in recent months after the deaths of three migrants while in custody at the facility. The El Paso County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office<\/a> ruled the death of one of those migrants, Geraldo Lunas Campos, a homicide and that his cause of death was asphyxia due to neck and torso compression. The federal government has said that on Jan. 3 Lunas Campos had attempted suicide and that guards were trying to help him, but he died during the struggle.<\/p>\n The other two migrants who died at the facility were Francisco Gaspar-Andres on Dec. 3 and Victor Manuel Diaz on Jan. 14. ICE has said that Gaspar-Andres was suspected to have died of liver and kidney failure, while Manuel Diaz died of a \u201cpresumed suicide.\u201d While Gaspar-Andres\u2019 and Lunas Campos\u2019 bodies were sent to the county medical examiner in El Paso, Manuel Diaz\u2019s autopsy was performed at the Army medical center at Fort Bliss. When asked by the Associated Press whether an agency other than ICE would investigate Manuel Diaz\u2019s death, the Department of Homeland Security did not respond.<\/p>\n On Friday, U.S. Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, reiterated her call for Camp East Montana to be shut down. Escobar, who has been a vocal critic of the facility since its opening, said in a post on X, \u201cIt should come as no surprise that there is a measles outbreak at Camp East Montana.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThis public health crisis is a direct result of the manner in which Acquisition Logistics operates the facility: an explicit effort to maximize profits at the expense of federal standards for services such as medical attention,\u201d Escobar said. \u201cSuch an inexperienced, incompetent private prison corporation does not share our community\u2019s interests or those of the detainees.\u201d<\/p>\n Acquisition Logistics built and operates Camp East Montana, and in a letter to DHS and ICE leadership<\/a>, Escobar and 23 other Democrats are calling for the company to be investigated and the detention center closed.<\/p>\n
\n
The other 13 cases were reported at Camp East Montana, a tent facility on the grounds of the Fort Bliss Army base that houses detained migrants
\n
Earlier this month, El Paso city officials told Spectrum News that they were notified of\u00a0cases of tuberculosis at Camp East Montana<\/a>
\n
Camp East Montana has experienced some backlash in recent months after the deaths of three migrants while in custody at the facility<\/p>\n
\nThe Apple Store in Cielo Vista Mall (8401 Gateway Blvd. West) on Feb. 20 from 4:30 to 6:45 p.m.
\nDel Sol Medical Center (10301 Gateway Blvd. West) on Feb. 20 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
\nOutlet Mall (7051 S Desert Blvd.) on Feb. 20 from 7 to 11 p.m.
\nOutlet Mall (7051 S Desert Blvd.) on Feb. 21 from 7 to 11 p.m.
\nGood Luck Caf\u00e9 (3813 Alameda) on Feb. 22 from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
\nTarget-Bassett (6001 Gateway Blvd. West) on Feb. 22 from 4 to 6:30 p.m.
\nAy Cocula (1435 Lee Trevino Drive) on Feb. 22 from 5 to 9 p.m.<\/p>\n