Mexican teen imprisoned over TB to be deported

A 17-year-old Mexican teen will be deported after being jailed in Georgia for refusing treatment for tuberculoses. Since being in a county jail for about a month, Francisco Santos has taken medicine and signed a consent form obligating him to keep doing so for another nine months after being released from prison.

After being released, Santos will face deportation charges along with his mother since both are undocumented. Yet as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution notes, they probably won’t be back in Mexico for quite a while:

“Enriqueta Palacios and her son are expected to appear before an immigration judge in Atlanta within a few weeks. Those proceedings can take a few months, and, pending appeals and other actions, the final deportation could come soon after that or take several more months.

In total, he may not be deported for another two years, which would provide him time to receive the treatment locally.”

Nonetheless, the Mexican government assured that the teen will keep getting treatment after he is deported south of the border.

Santos’ case is somewhat reminiscent of U.S. attorney Andrew Speaker who traveled to Europe earlier this year while being infected with tuberculosis.

Sources (English)- Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Forbes, Voice of America

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- BBC News (Tuberculosis bacteria)