Traveler Asks Court to Stop Enforcement of COVID-19 Test Requirement for International Flyers

Vaccinated Washington, D.C., Man Challenges

CDC Order as Arbitrary, Illegal, & Unconstitutional

June 18, 2021

By LUCAS WALL

ORLANDO, Florida – A fully vaccinated frequent traveler planning to visit his brother and sister-in-law in Germany next week filed tonight a motion for preliminary injunction to block the federal government from enforcing the International Traveler Testing Requirement. The lawsuit is before the U.S. District Court in Orlando.

Lucas Wall, 44, of Washington, D.C., opposes having to pay for a COVID-19 test on his return flight to the United States scheduled June 30 from Frankfurt, Germany. The ITTR has been in effect since Jan. 26 and applies even to those who are fully vaccinated and/or naturally immune from coronavirus.

“I am fully vaccinated from COVID-19 and object to the federal government requiring me to pay for an expensive coronavirus test every time I travel abroad when such a test is completely unnecessary because of my vaccination status,” Wall wrote. “My medical insurance does not apply abroad, so I’d have to pay for the required test out of pocket. Many millions of Americans also have health insurance that’s not valid out of the country.”

The lawsuit names the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, President Joseph Biden, and other federal agencies as defendants. This case appears to be the first in the nation to challenge the ITTR.

In the lawsuit filed June 7, Wall charges the federal government with 21 counts of violating the Constitution, laws, and regulations in imposing the ITTR and the Federal Transportation Mask Mandate. Wall moved June 17 to obtain a preliminary injunction halting enforcement of the mask requirement, which applies to all modes of public transportation nationwide.

Wall, a former transportation reporter and editor who has visited 133 foreign countries, contends the ITTR is not an appropriate government policy because it doesn’t exclude those who are vaccinated and/or possess natural immunity after recovering from coronavirus infection.

Tonight’s request for a preliminary injunction to stop the ITTR argues the requirement: 1) does not comply with the rulemaking process that is mandatory under the Administrative Procedure Act; 2) does not comply with the Regulatory Flexibility Act; 3) is arbitrary and capricious; 4) exceeds the federal government’s statutory authority under the Public Health Service Act; and 5) is unconstitutional as an improper delegation of legislative power as well as interfering with the rights to travel, due process, and equal protection without any public benefit.

The case is Wall v. CDC, No. 6:21-cv-975-PGB-DCI.

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