Washington, D.C. (November 12, 2020) – Recent news about a possible Covid-19 vaccine highlights the fact that refugees being resettled in the U.S. are not routinely screened for the virus. President Trump has the authority to require such testing (or vaccination, once it is rolled out) prior to departure for the U.S., something the incoming Biden administration would be hard-pressed to undo.
 
A new report from the Center for Immigration Studies analyzes the current overseas medical testing of refugees being resettled in the United States amid the Covid-19 health crisis. In accordance with the Immigration and Nationality Act, all immigrants (including refugees) seeking admission into the United States must undergo a medical examination overseas before they are allowed in. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and its parent agency, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), have regulatory authority over this medical screening process. Those found with "communicable diseases of public health significance" are ineligible to be admitted to the United States unless they undergo treatment and no longer pose a danger of transmitting the disease.
 
Diseases included in that list are those called "quarantinable communicable diseases" that are designated as such by the president by executive order. Current "quarantinable communicable diseases" include "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes (SARS)" other than influenza that are causing or have the potential to cause a pandemic. CDC has determined that COVID-19 meets the definition of a severe acute respiratory syndrome and is as such a "quarantinable communicable disease". This means two things: Covid-19 is a "communicable disease of public health significance"; and, refugees should be screened for that disease during their medical examination abroad and rendered inadmissible if tested positive.
 
Yet refugees are not routinely being tested for the Covid-19 virus prior to resettlement.
 
Dr. Nayla Rush, a senior researcher at the Center and author of the report, writes, "Thousands of refugees from countries with floundering health care systems, delayed government responses, and, more often than not, deep political and economic crises, are being resettled here without prior testing for Covid-19. This is puzzling to say the least; by U.S. law, screening refugees (and other immigrants) for 'quarantinable communicable diseases' is mandatory."
 
While the requirement that refugees be tested for Covid-19 would seem unambiguous, President Trump can remove any doubt by issuing an executive order explicitly citing Covid-19 as a SARS quarantinable communicable disease. This order would make Covid-19 tests obligatory for refugees (and other immigrants) shortly before departure for the United States.