Thousands Of Migrants Quarantined Amid Mumps, Chicken Pox Outbreaks

Thousands of immigrants are in quarantine after being exposed to mumps or chicken pox. 

CNN reports ICE has placed 5,200 adults in 39 detention centers under medical quarantine. Around 4,200 of those quarantined have reportedly been exposed to mumps, roughly 800 were exposed to chicken pox, and another 100 were exposed to both. 

ICE has dealt with contagious diseases like the measles, the flu and chicken pox before. But it wasn't until last September that the agency recorded cases of mumps. It's not clear how the disease was introduced into ICE facilities or how it spread. 

The Department of Homeland Security has warned Congress about an increased number of migrant detentions at the southern border, and a recent watchdog report found some ICE detention centers are already dangerously overcrowded.