The still-raging coronavirus pandemic continues to tighten its grip on people around the world. The United States is one of the worst-hit countries due to the pandemic, with millions of Americans succumbing to the deadly pathogen and tens and thousands of people getting hospitalized.
While the United States is not the only country affected by the crisis, Donald Trump has particularly been facing strong criticism for his handling of the pandemic in the initial stage. Bent on amending his rundown reputation, Trump is now enforcing some strict measures to restrict the spread of the virus, particularly because he has been pushing for schools to reopen in the fall.
Keeping in line with that, Trump's administration is planning to put a lid on entry on the US-Mexico border. While the move seems understandable at first glance, but on the downside, it will end up restricting US citizens who are lawful permanent residents of the country from returning to America in the wake of rising coronavirus cases across several states in the country.
This move is also one of the Trump's administration's recent moves to seal off US borders amid the coronavirus pandemic. Earlier this year, the administration imposed a public health law to get rid of migrants, including children, who are placed under arrest at the border. A slew of other travel restrictions has been implemented during the pandemic.
The measures considered by the administration is expected to depend on authorities from the CDC (US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), the source said. The possibility of the administration stopping Americans from returning to the United States was originally reported by The New York Times. The report attributed the move to the administration's attempt to restrict the spread of coronavirus.
The CDC is working on creating measures in a bid to control the pandemic now and in the future, an administration official acquainted with the ongoing discussion told CNN. Furthermore, the source said the regulation, which is currently in draft form is subject to change. Noting that this is an ongoing process, the source said any shred of information about it would be premature.
A draft memo acquired by the Times states that any move that restricts citizens and legal permanent must be accompanied with appropriate protections to make sure that their Constitutional rights are not infringed. Moreover, such a move is likely to apply in the rarest of situations.