About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

1 [1] (October 6, 2014)

handle is hein.crs/crsmthaactc0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Legal Sidebar The Ebola Outbreak: Select Legal Issues On August 8th, the World Health Organization dedared the utbrk f h E Vir Di in West Africa a Publi. Health Emergency of International Concern. The recent arrival in the United States of several health care workers who contracted the disease, combined with the first diagnosis of a case in the U.S. at a hospital in Dallas, has sparked discussion about the appropriate government response. Aside from the various policy considerations at issue, the outbreak has generated several legal questions about the federal government's authority to restrict specific passengers' travel and/or contain the outbreak of an infectious disease. These questions include, inter alia, whether the federal government may: (1) restrict which countries U.S. nationals may travel to in the event of a public health crisis; (2) bar the entry into the United States of people who may have been infected by a disease; and (3) impose isolation or quarantine measures in order to control infectious diseases. Passport restrictions on which countries U.S. citizens may visit can be imposed by the Secretary of State. Pursuant to the Passport Act, the Secretary of State may grant and issue passports according to rules designated by the President, and may impose restrictions on the use of passports to travel to countries where there is imminent danger to the public health or the physical safety of United States travellers (sic). The Supreme Court has recognized that the authority to grant and issue passports includes the power to impose area restrictions - limits on travel to specific countries (restrictions must comply with the Due Process Clause of the Constitution). Although passport restrictions are not criminally iinf rceable, they may prevent travelers from boarding a flight to a restricted area. Restrictions may also be imposed on who may enter the United States, though the range of applicable restrictions may differ depending upon whether a person seeking entry into the country is a U.S. national. The government enjoys authority under federal immigration law to bar the entry of a foreign national on specific health-related grounds, including when a particular foreign national is determined to have a Icommunicable disease of public health significance/' More broadly, section 212(f of the Immigration and NatiQnaiiy.Act authorizes the President, pursuant to proclamation, to direct the denial of entry to any alien or class of aliens whose entry into the country would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. These restrictions do not apply to U.S. citizens, who may enjoy a constituional iht to rener the country. Nonetheless, certain travel restrictions may impede the ability of any person - regardless of citizenship - from traveling to the United States in a manner that potentially exposes others to a communicable disease. For example, airlines flying to the U.S. are permitted under Department of Transportation regulations to refuse transportation to passengers with infectious diseases who have been determined to pose a dir2et threa to the health and safety of others. In making this determination, airlines may Leiy on directives from the CDC and other government agencies. Pilots of flights to the United States are also requi rd to report certain illnesses they encounter during flight before arrival into the U.S. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintain a public health DoNotLBoard (DNB) list, which contains the names of people who are likely to be contagious with a communicable disease, may not adhere to public health recommendations, and are likely to board an aircraft. Airlines are not permitted to issue a boarding pass to people on the DNB list for flights departing from or arriving into the United States. People placed on the DNB list are also assigned a public hialth loko reord, which will alert Customs and Border Protection officers in the event the person attempts to enter the country through a port of entry. The CDC's Divi ion of Gl Mirion an Quarantine (DGMQ) can conduct exit screening at foreign airports to identify travelers with communicable diseases and alert the relevant local authorities.

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most