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Law360 (May 26, 2020, 6:15 PM EDT) -- Countries facing travel restrictions as a result of the coronavirus pandemic can now send their athletes to the U.S. after the Trump administration made an exception for them, saying sporting events are crucial for restarting the economy.
Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf said in a statement Friday that the department will work with professional sporting leagues including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association and the National Hockey League to identify athletes, along with their "essential" staff, spouses and dependents, who will be included in the exemption.
"It's time to reopen the economy and it's time we get our professional athletes back to work," Wolf said.
The list of those exempted from the travel restrictions may be expanded or cut down "based on assessments of national interest, including the plans of the relevant professional sporting groups to support sporting events in the United States that do not cause an unnecessary risk to the public health," according to the announcement.
Wolf noted that the order doesn't exempt foreign athletes from other travel requirements such as inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
President Donald Trump issued international travel restrictions in March prohibiting foreign citizens from the United Kingdom and Ireland from entering the U.S. and limited incoming flights from Europe to 13 airports to lessen the spread of COVID-19. The restrictions have since been expanded to include China, Iran, Brazil and Europe's Schengen region.
More than 2.4 million Americans filed for unemployment last week, bringing the nine-week total to 38.6 million, while businesses remain closed under state shutdown orders allowing only essential services to stay open during the pandemic, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
Last month, Trump temporarily ordered for foreigners seeking green cards to be barred from coming to the U.S. as a measure to help support Americans who lost their jobs as a result of the outbreak.
Earlier this month, a D.C. federal judge refused to block the order, finding that the U.S. citizens and green card applicants challenging the proclamation haven't yet been hurt by it.
--Additional reporting by Suzanne Monyak. Editing by Stephen Berg.
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