Basile, Louisiana – Women detainees at a migrant detention center in Louisiana faced a communications lockdown after staging a protest over inadequate health standards.

The women launched the protest after receiving notice that a detainee had tested positive for tuberculosis (TB) at South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, a private immigration detention facility operated by GEO Group on behalf of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), The Intercept reported.

The women were told they would have to give up communal meals and recreation time to quarantine. This, together with the documented history of lax medical standards at ICE facilities, spurred them to take a stand.

After refusing to enter lockdown and demanding better medical care, the women were punished as staff took away their phones, tablets, and televisions.

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Several of the women told The Intercept that the patient had been showing visible signs of illness for weeks, but staff ignored her condition until she started coughing blood.

TB is very rare in the US, with the CDC reporting just 2.7 active cases for every 100,000 people in 2019. But in detention centers, the numbers are much higher, with infection rates around 100 for every 100,000 people between 2014 and 2016. In most cases, TB is latent and does not show any symptoms, but it can turn into its active form and become contagious.

The report comes as of medical negligence in ICE facilities, including a high-profile case of a Georgia facility accused of giving female detainees forced hysterectomies. There have also been complaints of providing false medications, ignoring pleas for care, and releasing detainees in near-death condition.

It is unclear how the woman suspected of having TB, which can be fatal, is currently being treated and what steps the center is taking to stop the spread of infection.