The Trump administration on Monday announced it is extending a sweeping public health order that border officials have been using to expel thousands of unauthorized migrants and asylum-seekers who the government says could spread the coronavirus if allowed into the U.S.

The order by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC, which was first issued on March 20, invoked a World War II law that allows the government to deny entry to foreigners it deems could “introduce” an infectious disease into the country. Through a notice published Monday, CDC Director Robert Redfield extended the order for another 30 days.

Not extending it, Redfield wrote, “would be counterproductive and dangerous,” undermining efforts to contain the deadly coronavirus pandemic “by permitting the introduction of persons outside the United States who pose a risk of transmission of COVID-19 within DHS facilities or the U.S. interior.”­

Bypassing U.S. immigration and asylum laws, …continued .
[Source: CBS News]