About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

1 1 (March 5, 2020)

handle is hein.crs/govcapy0001 and id is 1 raw text is: 









                  Resarh Servi kM-






COVID-19: Current Travel Restrictions and

Quarantine Measures



March 5, 2020
The United States, along with many countries, is responding to an outbreak of a respiratory disease, now
referred to as COVID-19, which is caused by a novel coronavirus first detected in mainland China's
Hubei Province in late 2019. Cases of COVID-19 have now been detected in several countries, including
the United States.
To date, the federal government has taken two key actions to deter persons with suspected COVID- 19
infection from entering the country or spreading the virus to persons within the United States. First, the
federal government has restricted many non-U.S. nationals (aliens) who recently travelled to mainland
China or Iran from entering the United States. Second, the federal government has imposed a quarantine
requirement on all persons entering the United States, regardless of citizenship status, who have recently
been to mainland China. This Legal Sidebar examines the legal authorities underlying these actions, as
well as possible legal challenges to their use.

Entry Restrictions
To deter the entry of aliens into the United States who may have been exposed to COVID- 19, President
Trump has invoked his authority over alien entry under Section 212(t) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (INA). That provision allows the President to suspend the entry of all aliens, or any class of aliens
whose entry he finds ... would be detrimental to the interests of the United States. Under this authority,
President Trump issued a Proclamation on January 31, 2020, generally suspending the entry of any
foreign national who had been in mainland China at some point within the prior 14 days. But lawful
permanent residents (LPRs), most immediate relatives of U.S. citizens and LPRs, and some other groups,
such as some airplane and ship crew members, are exempted from this restriction, as are those with prior
presence in Hong Kong or Macau. On February 29, 2020, President Trump issued a second Proclamation
that similarly suspends the entry of any foreign national who has been in Iran within the prior 14 days, in
addition to making minor amendments to the earlier Proclamation.
While this appears to be the first time Section 212(f) has been used to control the spread of a
communicable disease, the provision has been previously invoked to restrict foreign travelers from
coming into the United States. Perhaps most notably, Section 212(f) provided the legal basis for the
Trump Administration's imposition of the so-called travel ban on certain foreign nationals from
                                                               Congressional Research Service
                                                                 https://crsreports.congress.gov
                                                                                   LSB10415

CRS Lega Sidebar
Prepaed for Membeivs and
Cornnittees  o4 Cor~qress  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most