Coronavirus: Trump Bans Travel from Europe, Democrats Seek Open Borders

A people stand on the platform near a train stoped by authorities at the train station on
AP Photo/Matthias Schrader
John Binder

President Trump issued a travel ban on the continent of Europe for at least 30 days while House and Senate Democrats push to dismantle his authority to enact such life-saving immigration restrictions.

On Wednesday evening, Trump announced a travel ban on all European residents attempting to come to the U.S. over the next 30 days. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) officials said Europe is now the biggest threat to the coronavirus spread in the U.S.

The travel ban, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials confirmed, will begin Friday, March 13 and ban foreign nationals who have been in certain European countries at any point during the 14 days prior to their scheduled arrival to the U.S.

The countries from which foreign nationals are banned include: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

For days, hundreds of flights from Italy and other European countries had continued as normal to all major and small airports in the U.S. despite the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony Fauci has said Trump’s initial travel ban on China and Iran helped stop the spread of the coronavirus.

As Trump issues the sweeping travel ban on Europe to protect Americans from the coronavirus, House and Senate Democrats are attempting to dismantle the administration’s ability to issue travel bans.

As Breitbart News reported, 220 House Democrats have signed onto the “No Ban Act” to stop Trump from being able to executively issue travel bans. Under the Democrats’ plan, travelers directly from Wuhan, China, and Italy would be allowed to continue entering the U.S. via flights.

“This bill imposes limitations on the President’s authority to suspend or restrict aliens from entering the United States and terminates certain presidential actions implementing such restrictions,” a summary of the legislation reads.

The legislation would mandate Trump “only issue a restriction when required to address a compelling government interest,” although that interest is not defined. Before imposing a travel ban, Trump would have to “consult with Congress,” the legislation dictates.

Likewise, Democrat Senators Christopher Murphy (D-CT), Christopher Coons (D-DE), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) have introduced legislation to stop Trump’s recent expansion of a travel ban on some legal immigration from Burma, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Sudan, along with Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela, and Yemen.

The number of coronavirus cases hits 1,107 nationwide, including 32 deaths.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter at @JxhnBinder. 

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