Masks Required at All Ports of Entry

In accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order issued on January 21 regarding COVID-19 safety, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has issued new guidance. Effective February 2, CBP is enforcing the requirement that travelers wear face masks at all air, land and sea ports of entry in the U.S. CBP Officers will require travelers to temporarily lower their mask during the inspection process to verify their identity. Individuals on private transportation such as personal vehicles are not required to wear a mask while driving, but must use a mask once they enter an air, land, or sea port facility.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has also issued an Order entitled “Requirement for Persons to Wear Masks While on Conveyances and at Transportation Hubs.” According to these new requirements, everyone over the age of 2 must wear a mask that completely covers the nose and mouth of the wearer while on public conveyances (e.g., airplanes, ships, ferries, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares) traveling into, within, or out of the United States. People must wear properly fitted masks when awaiting, boarding, traveling on, or disembarking public conveyances or transportation hubs.

According to the CDC guidelines, cloth masks should be made with two or more layers of a breathable fabric that is tightly woven (i.e., fabrics that do not let light pass through when held up to a light source). Masks should be secured to the head with ties, ear loops, or elastic bands that go behind the head and should fit snugly but comfortably against the side of the face. Masks should be a solid piece of material without slits, exhalation valves, or punctures.

The mask requirement does not apply to persons with disabilities, who cannot safely wear a mask due to a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act, or to individuals for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to workplace health, safety, or job duty.

The mask requirement will remain in effect until further notice. Failure to comply with the mask requirement can result in denial of transport or other civil/criminal penalties under 18 U.S.C. 3559, 3571.

Serotte Reich will continue to provide updates as new developments affecting immigration continue to occur frequently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Please contact our office via our website or by phone at (716) 854-7525 to schedule a consultation if you have an immigration matter that has been affected by the pandemic and have questions or require assistance.

Biden Issues Proclamation Ending Discriminatory Muslim Travel Bans

On his first day in office, January 20, President Biden signed into effect a Presidential Proclamation ending the discriminatory travel bans issued by former President Trump. President Biden’s proclamation, entitled “Ending Discriminatory Bans on Entry to the United States,” repeals Trump’s Presidential Proclamations 9645, 9723, and 9983, as well as his Executive Order 13780. Trump’s proclamations and executive order had restricted entry into the U.S. by certain nonimmigrants and immigrants from Arab, Muslim-majority and African-majority countries, including Burma, Eritrea, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, Libya, Nigeria, North Korea, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tanzania, Venezuela, and Yemen.

President Biden’s proclamation stresses the centrality of religious freedom and tolerance as the foundation upon which the United States was built. In the proclamation he calls President Trump’s proclamations and executive order “a stain on our national conscience…inconsistent with our long history of welcoming people of all faiths and no faith at all. [The proclamations] have separated loved ones, inflicting pain that will ripple for years to come.  They are just plain wrong.” As of January 2019, the Cato Institute reports that over 9,000 spouses and minor children of U.S. Citizens have been barred as a result of Trump’s bans.

Along with repealing Trump’s travel bans, President Biden’s proclamation directs that all embassies and consulates cease applying Trump’s bans and resume processing of all visas immediately. Additionally, the Department of State (DOS) must undertake a review and provide a proposal to ensure that individuals whose immigrant visa applications were denied because of Trump’s bans have a pathway to reconsideration of their applications. President Biden’s proclamation requires that the DOS develop a plan to expedite consideration of those visa applications. At the same time, Covid-19 continues to affect U.S. visa processing at consulates and embassies all over the world.

President Biden’s proclamation is the first of many to come under the new administration that will hopefully impact immigration for the better.

If you need assistance or advisement regarding an immigration matter that will be affected by this new proclamation, please contact us at 716-854-7525 or www.srwborderlawyers.com/contact to schedule a consultation.