Title 42

SECTION 71.40

71.40 Suspension of the right to introduce and prohibition of the introduction of persons into the United States from designated foreign countries or places for public health purposes.

§ 71.40 Suspension of the right to introduce and prohibition of the introduction of persons into the United States from designated foreign countries or places for public health purposes.

(a) The Director may prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction into the United States of persons from designated foreign countries (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or places, only for such period of time that the Director deems necessary to avert the serious danger of the introduction of a quarantinable communicable disease, by issuing an order in which the Director determines that:

(1) By reason of the existence of any quarantinable communicable disease in a foreign country (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or place there is serious danger of the introduction of such quarantinable communicable disease into the United States; and

(2) This danger is so increased by the introduction of persons from such country (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or place that a suspension of the right to introduce such persons into the United States is required in the interest of public health.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) Introduction into the United States means the movement of a person from a foreign country (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or place, or series of foreign countries or places, into the United States so as to bring the person into contact with persons or property in the United States, in a manner that the Director determines to present a risk of transmission of a quarantinable communicable disease to persons, or a risk of contamination of property with a quarantinable communicable disease, even if the quarantinable communicable disease has already been introduced, transmitted, or is spreading within the United States;

(2) Prohibit, in whole or in part, the introduction into the United States of persons means to prevent the introduction of persons into the United States by suspending any right to introduce into the United States, physically stopping or restricting movement into the United States, or physically expelling from the United States some or all of the persons;

(3) Serious danger of the introduction of such quarantinable communicable disease into the United States means the probable introduction of one or more persons capable of transmitting the quarantinable communicable disease into the United States, even if persons or property in the United States are already infected or contaminated with the quarantinable communicable disease;

(4) The term Place includes any location specified by the Director, including any carrier, as that term is defined in 42 CFR 71.1, whatever the carrier's flag, registry, or country of origin; and

(5) Suspension of the right to introduce means to cause the temporary cessation of the effect of any law, rule, decree, or order pursuant to which a person might otherwise have the right to be introduced or seek introduction into the United States.

(1) The foreign countries (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or places from which the introduction of persons shall be prohibited;

(2) The period of time or circumstances under which the introduction of any persons or class of persons into the United States shall be prohibited;

(3) The conditions under which that prohibition on introduction shall be effective in whole or in part, including any relevant exceptions that the Director determines are appropriate;

(4) The means by which the prohibition shall be implemented; and

(5) The serious danger posed by the introduction of the quarantinable communicable disease in the foreign country or countries (or one or more political subdivisions or regions thereof) or places from which the introduction of persons is being prohibited.

(d) When issuing any order under this section, the Director shall, as practicable under the circumstances, consult with all Federal departments or agencies whose interests would be impacted by the order. The Director shall, as practicable under the circumstances, provide the Federal departments or agencies with a copy of the order before issuing it. In circumstances when it is impracticable to engage in such consultation before taking action to protect the public health, the Director shall consult with the Federal departments or agencies as soon as practicable after issuing his or her order, and may then modify the order as he or she determines appropriate. In addition, the Director may, as practicable under the circumstances, consult with any State or local authorities that he or she deems appropriate in his or her discretion.

(1) If the order will be implemented in whole or in part by State and local authorities who have agreed to do so under 42 U.S.C. 243(a), then the Director shall explain in the order the procedures and standards by which those authorities are expected to aid in the enforcement of the order.

(2) If the order will be implemented in whole or in part by designated customs officers (including any individual designated by the Department of Homeland Security to perform the duties of a customs officer) or Coast Guard officers under 42 U.S.C. 268(b), or another Federal department or agency, then the Director shall, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security or other applicable Federal department or agency head, explain in the order the procedures and standards by which any authorities or officers or agents are expected to aid in the enforcement of the order, to the extent that they are permitted to do so under their existing legal authorities.

(e) This section does not apply to:

(1) Members of the armed forces of the United States and associated personnel if the Secretary of Defense provides assurance to the Director that the Secretary of Defense has taken or will take measures such as quarantine or isolation, or other measures maintaining control over such individuals, to prevent the risk of transmission of the quarantinable communicable disease into the United States; or

(2) Other United States government employees or contractors on orders abroad, or their accompanying family members who are on their orders or are members of their household, if the Director receives assurances from the relevant head of agency and determines that the head of the agency or department has taken or will take, measures such as quarantine or isolation, to prevent the risk of transmission of a quarantinable communicable disease into the United States.

(f) This section shall not apply to U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals, and lawful permanent residents.

(g) Any provision of this section held to be invalid or unenforceable by its terms, or as applied to any person or circumstance, shall be construed so as to continue to give the maximum effect to the provision permitted by law, unless such holding shall be one of utter invalidity or unenforceability, in which event the provision shall be severable from this section and shall not affect the remainder thereof or the application of the provision to persons not similarly situated or to dissimilar circumstances.

[85 FR 56458, Sept. 11, 2020]