Suspected tuberculosis cases reported at Tacoma immigrant detention center

Seven potential cases of tuberculosis have been reported at the federal immigrant detention center in Tacoma, state health officials said Tuesday.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Wednesday morning disputed that the disease was present at the facility and said that the reports stem from one individual who refused a tuberculosis test, and six other detainees who were exposed to them.

But an attorney for a man detained at the site said his client was treated for tuberculosis at a hospital in Tacoma last month.

Washington Department of Health officials said they don’t believe the serious and highly contagious bacterial infection has been transmitted within the detention center, and no one has tested positive for infectious tuberculosis, which can spread between people. None of the seven patients have “known connections” to one another, according to a spokesperson for the department.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/08/06/suspected-tuberculosis-cases-reported-at-tacoma-immigrant-detention-center/