The Trump Administration is considering giving border authorities the power to deny asylum to people from countries where there is a widespread communicable disease like COVID-19.
The Homeland Security and Justice Departments said in a joint proposal that denying asylum to immigrants from high-risk countries would combat disease in the U.S. In some cases stopping it before it reaches American soil. In June, Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf talked in a TV interview about the concern on the southern border.
“We have about one point five U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents living in Mexico, coming back over for medical treatment. So there's a variety of different reasons on why you would have different outbreaks in different states. And again, we have medical professionals, CDC has sent teams into these individual areas, the Department has as well. And we're continuing to address that,” Wolf said.
The idea is one of latest proposals by the Trump Administration on the issue of immigration. On Friday, President Trump said he would sign an executive order to give dreamers a pathway to citizenship, but the White House hasn't released any details.