The Obama administration continues to resist the idea of a travel ban from West African countries to prevent more Ebola cases from reaching the United States. White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest explained to reporters today that a travel ban or a visa ban would actually hurt the federal government’s ability to monitor travelers coming through airports.
“If we were to put in place a travel ban or a visa ban, it would provide a direct incentive for individuals seeking to travel to the United States to go underground and to seek to evade this screening and to not be candid about their travel history in order to enter the country,” Earnest explained at the White House press briefing. ”That means it would be much harder for us to keep tabs on these individuals and make sure that they get the screening that's needed to protect them and to protect, more importantly, the American public.”
During a special hearing on Ebola today, House Republicans repeatedly questioned officials whether a travel ban was even discussed at the White House House Speaker John Boehner endorsed a travel ban on Thursday.
A temporary ban on travel to the United States from countries afflicted with the virus is something that the president should absolutely consider along with any other appropriate actions as doubts about the security of our air travel systems grow,” Boehner said in a statement.
However, Earnest stated that it was more important to keep transportation between the countries open, noting that only 150 people a day travel into the country.
“We want to make sure that those individuals are subjected to the heightened screening measures that the president put in place a week or two ago,” he said.
