Daniel González, and Ken Alltucker

The Republic | azcentral.com

16 measles cases now have been confirmed at the Eloy detention center

The new cases involve detainees and do not pose a risk to the public

ICE officials have started allowing visitors back inside he facility on a limited basis

Two more measles cases have been confirmed, bringing to 16 the total number of cases tied to an immigration detention center in Eloy, state health officials announced Friday.

The two new cases involve detainees and do not pose a risk to the public, health officials said. The 16 confirmed measles cases involve 12 detainees and four employees, health officials said.

Despite the new cases, officials also announced Friday that a limited number of visitors would be allowed into the facility.

All visitors including family members and attorneys, however, will first have to prove they have been vaccinated for the measles or are immune to the highly contagious disease, ICE officials said in a statement.

Visitation was suspended on May 27 after tests confirmed two measles cases tied to the facility.

The two newest cases come after health officials confirmed on Tuesday that a detainee released from the Eloy Detention Center at the beginning of May had measles.

MORE: Measles outbreak puts Casa Grande on public-health alert

The former detainee developed symptoms of the disease after he was released but then refused to get tested for measles. Public-health officials declared that his symptoms, proximity to other infected detainees and a lack of immunity were enough to confirm measles, even without a formal test.

Because the detainee was not contagious at the time he was released, he did not expose others to measles, health officials said.

Attorneys scrambling to find vaccination records

The 1,550-bed Eloy Detention Center houses immigrants awaiting the outcome of deportation cases, as well as asylum seekers and legal immigrants convicted of crimes that make them eligible for removal from the U.S. The center is run by the private Corrections Corporation of America under contract with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Ruben Reyes, a Phoenix immigration lawyer and the incoming chair of the Arizona chapter of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, said he appreciates "the abundance of caution" health officials have taken to contain the measles outbreak.

But he is concerned that some immigration lawyers may have difficulty proving they have been vaccinated for the measles, especially if they received shots a long time ago.

"I've heard a mixed reaction," Reyes said. "People are trying to find their vaccination cards but everybody seems to be OK with" the precautions.

Transgender woman among Eloy detainees whose release delayed by measles outbreak

The outbreak has created a dilemma for some immigration attorneys, said Reyes. He has a 6-month-old child at home whom he doesn't want to expose to the disease. On the other hand, he has a professional responsibility to adequately represent his clients detained at the facility.

Now that visitation has resumed, "I feel like I need to go," Reyes said. "But I am going to be taking extreme precautions," including removing his clothes and putting them in plastic bags and changing into fresh clothes after leaving the facility.

In response to the outbreak, officials also canceled court hearings inside the facility and temporarily halted the movement of detainees in and out of the 1,550-bed facility.

ICE officials resumed releasing detainees June 2, six days after the outbreak was announced.

102 detainees have been released

As of Friday, 102 detainees have been processed out of the center, according to a written statement released by Yasmeen Pitts O'Keefe, an ICE spokeswoman. They include detainees who have been released to the community and those deported from the U.S., the statement said. There were 1,333 people detained in the facility as of Friday.

Pitts O'Keefe would not speculate when the facility will return to normal operations.

"We're working very closely with health officials to ensure the measles outbreak remains contained," she said in the statement.

Meanwhile, court operations remain shut down, according to the Executive Office for Immigration Review. The office, part of the Department of Justice, staffs three immigration judges inside the Eloy facility to hear immigration cases of people detained inside the facility. As of Friday, 424 immigration cases have been canceled since the measles outbreak, according to Kathryn Mattingly, a spokeswoman.

Arizona public-health officials expect measles outbreak to grow