First non-citizen to be transported to the United States for Ebola treatment
Dr. Martin Salia, a citizen of Sierra Leone, who contracted Ebola while working in West Africa will be flown to the United States to receive treatment. Dr. Salia is a green card holder (permanent U.S. resident). On November 13, 2014, government officials said that Dr. Salia will receive treatment for the deadly virus at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. He is expected to arrive in the United States on Saturday.
Dr. Salia is the first non-citizen to be transported from West Africa for Ebola treatment in the United States. A hospital spokesman said that the patient would soon be evaluated for possible treatment.
Under the laws of the United States, spelled out in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a non-citizen could be deemed inadmissible on “health-related, security, criminal and labor certification grounds.” The Act states that: “Any alien who is determined (in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to have a communicable disease of public health significance, is inadmissible.”
