The White House is considering a temporary block on American citizens and legal residents returning to the United States from abroad.

The new proposed rules from the White House allow border officials to prevent citizens and legal residents from coming into the U.S. if they believe they may be infected with the coronavirus.

In recent months, the White House has imposed sweeping rules that ban entry by foreigners into the U.S., citing risks of viral spread from hot spots abroad. Before the rules exempted American citizens and non-citizens who have established legal residency, The New York Times noted.

According to the Washington Post, it is not clear if the Trump administration has the legal authority to do the said block on re-entry. But White House officials said they are looking into a public health emergency declaration that will let them keep out people who are possibly infected by the virus.

The Forbes noted that Trump hasn't shielded from doing all sorts of border restrictions amid the pandemic. His major actions before have included banning most travel into the U.S. from Europe and mainland China. This affected international flights at large.

Trump has also recently turned his sights on Mexico, blaming the worsened conditions of the pandemic in the U.S. in part to migrants who cross the border from the southern neighbor. This was despite the U.S. having many times higher coronavirus cases than Mexico.

Federal agencies are expected to give their feedback on the proposal to the White House by Tuesday, but it is not yet clear when it will be approved or announced. The effect of the feedback on the new rules also remains unclear.

Restrictions Make Little Difference

According to medical experts, putting the new rules in place will do little in controlling the spread of the virus in the U.S. They said widespread community transmission is already happening in the country, making tighter border protections have little effect on the case numbers.

The U.S. is experiencing an outbreak that can be considered the world's worst, as more than five million confirmed cases of COVID-19 have been seen in many parts of the country, especially in the South.

Despite this, there is a sharp dissent within the White House about keeping sick American citizens and legal residents from coming back into the country.

The draft, which the New York Times obtained parts of, appeared to have no details about how long a citizen or legal resident is required to stay outside the U.S.

If implemented, though, the proposed rules will be the first time an administration attempts to apply this kind of restrictions to U.S. citizens and legal residents that cross the border daily. 

The Rule's Chief Critic

In response to the new rules, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) released a statement Monday, claiming that the block on American citizens from the U.S. is unconstitutional.

"The Trump administration has rolled out one border ban after another - most recently on children and asylum seekers - using COVID-19 as an excuse," said ACLU director Omar Jadwat.

Jadwat said the new order would be "another grave error in a year that has already seen far too many." 

Want to read more? Take a look at these!

US Border Patrol Agents Seize 1 Million in California-Mexico Border
New COVID-19 Testing Site Soon to Rise Near US-Mexico Border
CDC: Hispanic, Latino Children Are More Likely to Have COVID-19