States governments that chose to take the coronavirus seriously do not want to see infections imported from other states that didn't take it seriously so, to that end, Hawaii imposed restrictions on traveling to the island.
Rich property owners are challenging those restrictions in court and they just found a significant ally in the Trump regime.
Trump's Justice Department is now backing the lawsuit against Hawaii.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Justice has thrown its support behind a lawsuit challenging Hawaii’s 14-day quarantine for those entering the state, saying visitors are being denied rights granted to most island residents.
Tuesday’s filing in support of the lawsuit, filed by Nevada and California residents who own property in Hawaii, is the latest Justice Department decision to back legal challenges targeting coronavirus measures being taken in various states, including Illinois and Maine.
After Hawaii joins the list, I can only assume that New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut will soon follow.
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced this morning that their working group of states have agreed to quarantine incoming arrivals from other states with high rates of infection such as Florida, Arizona, and Texas.
None of this would be necessary if we had a coherent national strategy and framework for containing the virus, but the Trump White House intentionally decided to never even try. States were quite literally told to fend for themselves and decide what their own policies will be. And this is the result; a patchwork of policies leading to wildly different outcomes. With no federal jurisdiction or oversight of anything, there's no greater force that can regulate interstate travel leaving states to impose their own restrictions on travel.
States like New York paid a very heavy economic price but they appear to have conquered the virus for now. I can't blame them for not wanting to see their progress squandered because some yahoos from Florida carelessly brought the virus with them.
I hope states that are resuming some semblance of normal life can continue to do so, but it's really hard to keep people out unless you're literally an island like Hawaii.