Rep. Adelita Grijalva responds to measles outbreak at detention center in Arizona

TUCSON, Ariz. (KYMA) - Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) issued a statement regarding the measles outbreak at the Florence Detention Center.

The Department of Homeland Security said, in a statement, there were "seven confirmed active measles infections of detainees" at the center, adding, "Medical staff is continuing to monitor the detainees' conditions and will take appropriate and active steps to prevent further infection."

In a press release, one of the detainees infected is someone named Vlad, who "Rep. Grijalva's constituent services team" has been helping and "who faces imminent deportation in the coming weeks according to his wife."

"This latest measles outbreak is the predictable outcome of Trump's mass deportation agenda, which has fueled dangerous overcrowding at detention facilities and created the conditions for preventable diseases to spread. This outbreak has infected people like Vlad, who faces the prospect of being drafted into the war in Ukraine if he is deported to his home country of Russia. ICE must delay his deportation proceedings – and those of all other impacted individuals – so that they are able to pursue all legal avenues, which will inevitably be delayed by this outbreak.

For ICE to say this is the 'best healthcare' these individuals have ever received while simultaneously presiding over a measles outbreak at one of its own facilities demonstrates how willfully blind or blatantly indifferent the agency is to the inhumane conditions right under its nose. ICE must also communicate closely with the appropriate state and federal authorities to ensure this outbreak doesn't spread to other facilities or the broader community."

According to the Arizona Department of Health Services' website, they reported 330 cases between 2025 and 2026, with 96% of Arizonans remain unvaccinated, and Yuma County is seeing zero cases so far this year.