SHIELD Act
Bill: S.2331 | Sponsor: Sen. Cruz, Ted (R-TX)
Policy area: Immigration

Summary:
Securing the Homeland from International Entrants with Life-threatening Diseases Act or the SHIELD Act
This bill suspends for one year the admission and parole into the United States of certain categories of individuals who are from or were recently in a country that fails to meet certain criteria related to COVID-19.
This restriction applies to certain individuals entering the United States from Mexico or Canada through a port of entry or U.S. Border Patrol station and (1) whose country of origin has not been categorized by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a low-risk country for COVID-19, or (2) who was in such a country at any time in the 30 days before arriving in the United States.
The bill exempts certain individuals from this restriction, including U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents, members of the Armed Forces, and persons from a foreign country who arrive at a designated port of entry with valid travel documents.
The Department of Homeland Security shall transport barred individuals to a foreign location, such as an individual's country of origin, to the extent practicable.

To temporarily suspend the admissibility of certain persons traveling 
from countries that currently have a moderate or higher level COVID-19 
                             transmission.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Securing the Homeland from 
International Entrants with Life-threatening Diseases Act'' or the 
``SHIELD Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) On March 20, 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and 
        Prevention issued an order (referred to in this section as the 
        ``title 42 expulsion order'') pursuant to sections 362 and 365 
        of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265 and 268), which 
        authorizes the Surgeon General to prohibit the introduction of 
        certain persons into the United States from countries where an 
        outbreak of a communicable disease, such as the deadly COVID-19 
        pandemic, exists when necessary to protect the public health 
        from such disease.
            (2) The title 42 expulsion order was extended on April 20, 
        2020, and later amended on May 19, 2020, to further extend the 
        duration of such expulsions, subject to monthly review.
            (3) In 2020, U.S. Border Patrol made 382,374 title 42 
        expulsions to protect the United States from further 
        introduction of COVID-19.
            (4) In January 2021, the Biden administration, acting 
        ``swiftly and aggressively to combat coronavirus disease 
        2019'', issued proclamations suspending entry into the United 
        States of travelers from the United Kingdom, the Republic of 
        Ireland, and many other countries.
            (5) As of June 14, 2021, Mexico, Honduras, and Guatemala 
        each had sufficiently high new incidents of COVID-19 to receive 
        a COVID-19 Risk Assessment Level 3 (high) rating by the Centers 
        for Disease Control and Prevention, which is the same level of 
        COVID-19 risk as many of the countries from which entry is 
        suspended to travelers under the Biden administration 
        proclamations, including the United Kingdom, the Republic of 
        Ireland, and other countries.
            (6) Staggering numbers of migrants are flooding across the 
        international border between the United States and Mexico, 
        resulting in a humanitarian, public safety, and national 
        security crisis. During the first 5 months of 2021, U.S. Border 
        Patrol had more than 687,854 encounters with undocumented 
        migrants at the Southwest border, with undocumented migrants 
        from Mexico and the Northern Triangle countries accounting for 
        569,298 of those encounters, or roughly 83 percent of the 
        total. During April 2021, U.S. Border Patrol encountered more 
        aliens along the Southwest border than during any other month 
        since 2001.
            (7) News outlets have reported that the Biden 
        administration will shortly end the necessary and effective 
        title 42 expulsion policy.
            (8) As countries continue to pose a high risk of 
        transmission of COVID-19, the Biden administration should 
        continue to exercise the expulsion authority granted under 
        section 362 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 265) to 
        ``prevent further spread of the disease''.

SEC. 3. DEFINED TERM.

    In this Act, the term ``covered person''--
            (1) except as provided in paragraph (2), means any person 
        traveling to the United States from Canada or Mexico 
        (regardless of the country of origin of such person)--
                    (A) who would be introduced into a congregate 
                setting in a land or coastal port of entry or U.S. 
                Border Patrol station at or near the United States 
                border with Canada or with Mexico; and
                    (B)(i) whose country of origin--
                            (I) is not categorized by the Centers for 
                        Disease Control and Prevention as COVID-19 Risk 
                        Assessment Level 1 (low); or
                            (II) does not have COVID-19 vaccination 
                        rates that are substantially similar to or 
                        higher than such rates in the United States; or
                    (ii) who, at any time during the previous 30 days, 
                was present in a country that--
                            (I) is not categorized by the Centers for 
                        Disease Control and Prevention as COVID-19 Risk 
                        Assessment Level 1 (low); or
                            (II) does not have COVID-19 vaccination 
                        rates that are substantially similar to or 
                        higher than such rates in the United States; 
                        and
            (2) does not include--
                    (A) United States citizens;
                    (B) United States lawful permanent residents;
                    (C) any spouse or child of a person described in 
                subparagraph (A) or (B);
                    (D) members of the United States Armed Forces and 
                associated personnel, including any spouse or child of 
                such member or personnel;
                    (E) persons from a foreign country who--
                            (i) arrive at a designated port of entry; 
                        and
                            (ii)(I) hold valid travel documents; or
                            (II) are not otherwise subject to travel 
                        restrictions under the visa waiver program; and
                    (F) persons whom the Secretary of Homeland Security 
                (or designee) determines, based on an individualized 
                assessment that considers the totality of the 
                circumstances, including significant law enforcement, 
                officer and public safety, humanitarian, and public 
                health interests, should be excluded from the 
                definition of covered person under this Act.

SEC. 4. TEMPORARY SUSPENSION OF ADMISSIBILITY OF COVERED PERSONS.

    During the 1-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of Homeland Security shall--
            (1) suspend the admission and parole of all covered persons 
        into the United States;
            (2) minimize the time covered persons spend in a congregate 
        setting, to the extent practicable; and
            (3) transport, or arrange for the transportation of, all 
        covered persons from the United States to--
                    (A) the country from which such covered persons 
                entered the United States;
                    (B) the country of origin of such covered persons; 
                or
                    (C) another foreign location, to the extent 
                practicable.
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