In a legal move, Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) following the entry of a Chinese national with a rare, aggressive, and drug-resistant form of tuberculosis into the United States. This individual, referred to as Patient 0, was transported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) through various facilities in Louisiana, potentially exposing hundreds of detainees and others to the disease.
The State of Louisiana responded swiftly to this situation. Attorney General Murrill, alongside Governor Jeff Landry, Surgeon General Ralph Abraham, and the Department of Health, took immediate action to address the potential health crisis.
The lawsuit aims to ensure that all individuals who may have been exposed are medically cleared by state authorities before being allowed to leave the two affected facilities. On October 9, it was confirmed that Patient 0 tested positive for this drug-resistant tuberculosis strain. Over the subsequent days, Murrill collaborated closely with government officials to devise an action plan aimed at containing the disease's spread.
On October 15, during a call with ICE officials, Murrill demanded that no potentially infected detainees be released without medical clearance from the Department of Health—a request ICE declined. Consequently, Governor Landry and Murrill instructed their Solicitor General to prepare an emergency lawsuit against ICE.
This legal action led to an emergency complaint being filed on October 16 in Lafayette's Western District of Louisiana. The complaint included a request for a temporary restraining order due to sensitive health information involved. The district court granted this order on October 17, preventing ICE from releasing any potentially infected individuals without proper medical clearance.
Initially scheduled for October 24 but later postponed until October 31, a preliminary-injunction hearing will allow both parties more time for detailed briefings on the matter. On October 22, at Murrill’s request, the court unsealed parts of the case docket while keeping Patient 0's health information confidential.
Attorney General Liz Murrill stated: “The protection of our southern border is paramount to the security of the United States. It is neither political nor unreasonable that Louisiana has time and time again demanded that the Biden-Harris administration defend this nation... Despite this dereliction of duty by President Biden, Vice President Harris, and Secretary Mayorkas, Louisiana officials acted immediately to protect our people.”