[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7650 Introduced in House (IH)]

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116th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7650

To require the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to 
   ensure that foreign nationals test negative for SARS-CoV-2 before 
            repatriation or removal, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 16, 2020

  Mr. Nadler (for himself, Ms. Lofgren, Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Correa, Ms. 
 Dean, Mrs. Demings, Mr. Deutch, Ms. Garcia of Texas, Mrs. Hayes, Ms. 
 Jackson Lee, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, Mr. Ted Lieu of California, Ms. 
   Norton, Mr. Panetta, Mr. Raskin, Ms. Scanlon, Mr. Vargas, and Ms. 
  Velazquez) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To require the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to 
   ensure that foreign nationals test negative for SARS-CoV-2 before 
            repatriation or removal, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Coronavirus Containment Act of 
2020''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement repatriated or 
        attempted to repatriate dozens of foreign nationals who tested 
        positive for SARS-CoV-2 prior to departure from the United 
        States or upon arrival in their country of destination.
            (2) Haiti is one of the most vulnerable nations in the 
        world to SARS-CoV-2 with only a few dozen ventilators for 11 
        million people. Yet, in April 2020, multiple individuals who 
        were repatriated or otherwise removed to Haiti on a single 
        flight tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 upon their arrival. In 
        May, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement planned to 
        repatriate more than 100 individuals to Haiti, including 
        individuals known to have COVID-19, but abandoned these plans 
        after media scrutiny and pressure from the Haitian government.
            (3) As of mid-May 2020, more than 100 individuals have 
        tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 upon arrival in Guatemala, 
        prompting Guatemala to suspend repatriation flights from the 
        United States on several occasions.
            (4) U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's patchwork 
        approach to the screening and testing of deportees prior to 
        repatriation has failed, leading to the removal of dozens of 
        individuals infected with SARS-CoV-2 to countries with 
        overtaxed healthcare infrastructures, furthering the global 
        spread of the disease.

SEC. 3. TESTING BEFORE REPATRIATION OR REMOVAL.

    (a) In General.--During the period described in subsection (c), the 
Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall, prior to 
the repatriation or removal of any individual--
            (1) conduct a viral test to determine if such an individual 
        is infected with SARS-CoV-2; and
            (2) engage with the receiving country to ensure, subject to 
        subsection (b), that such an individual can be safely removed 
        or otherwise repatriated.
    (b) Limitation on Repatriation or Removal.--In the case that an 
individual tested under subsection (a)(1) tests positive for SARS-CoV-
2, such individual may not be removed or otherwise repatriated until 
such individual--
            (1) exhibits no symptoms of COVID-19 for at least 10 days; 
        and
            (2) is administered 2 additional viral tests more than 24 
        hours apart and tests negative for SARS-CoV-2 each time such a 
        viral test is administered.
    (c) Period Described.--The period described in this section is the 
period beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and ending 
180 days after the date on which the public health emergency declared 
by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the 
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d) with respect to COVID-19 is 
terminated.

SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shall publish 
on its public website, and update on a weekly basis, information 
related to testing of individuals it intends to remove or repatriate. 
Such information shall be delineated by facility and shall include--
            (1) the number of removals and repatriations, delineated by 
        country of origin;
            (2) the results of the viral tests administered to 
        individuals U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to 
        remove or repatriate; and
            (3) in the case of individuals U.S. Immigration and Customs 
        Enforcement intends to remove or repatriate who test positive 
        for SARS-CoV-2, the average length of stay in detention for 
        such individuals.

SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Symptoms of covid-19.--The term ``symptoms of COVID-
        19'' includes--
                    (A) fever or chills;
                    (B) cough;
                    (C) shortness of breath or difficulty breathing;
                    (D) fatigue;
                    (E) muscle or body aches;
                    (F) headaches;
                    (G) new loss of taste or smell;
                    (H) sore throat;
                    (I) congestion or runny nose;
                    (J) nausea or vomiting;
                    (K) diarrhea; or
                    (L) any other symptom that the Director of the 
                Centers for Disease Control and Prevention determines 
                to be a symptom of COVID-19.
            (2) Viral test.--The term ``viral test'' means a diagnostic 
        test with respect to SARS-CoV-2 that is approved, cleared, or 
        authorized under section 510(k), 513, 515 or 564 of the Federal 
        Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 360(k), 360c, 360e, or 
        360bbb-3).
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