(CNSNews.com) - Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D.-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, is sponsoring legislation to bar the U.S. government from deporting aliens who test positive for COVID-19.
“Not only has President Trump failed to contain COVID-19 within the United States, he has allowed ICE to recklessly export the pandemic abroad,” Nadler said in a statement released Thursday.
“If we want to seriously stop the spread of this global health crisis, we cannot let ICE continue the dangerous practice of repatriating individuals without appropriate testing,” he said.
“The bill I've introduced requires ICE to expand testing for individuals set for repatriation and halt the removal of any individual who tests positive for COVID-19,” Nadler said.
“The reality is this legislation should not even be necessary; this is just basic common sense and the minimum that ICE should be doing,” he said. “By containing cases known to have originated in the United States, we can protect countless lives and ease the burdens that vulnerable countries face in battling this deadly disease."
The official summary of Nadler’s proposed law says in part:
"Section 3(a) requires the Director of ICE, prior to the repatriation or removal of individuals to test such individuals for SARS-CoV-2 and engage with the receiving country to ensure that they can be safely repatriated.
"Section 3(b) bars the repatriation or removal of individuals who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 until such individuals exhibit no signs of COVID-19 for at least 10 days and test negative for SARS-CoV-2 following the administration of two additional tests that are conducted at least 24 hours apart.
“Section 3(c) requires ICE to abide by the terms of this section beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 180 days after the date on which the COVID-19 public health emergency declared by the Secretary of Health and Human Services is terminated.”