Hawaii trying to keep tourists out while respecting constitution

Hawaii, much like Alaska, has taken some of the most drastic measures when it comes to trying to combat the spread of the coronavirus.

Previously, they implemented a mandatory 14 day quarantine for anybody arriving in the state.

While this did decrease the number of tourists coming into the state, it did not completely reduce them, as visitors have continued to head out west to Hawaii even amid the pandemic.

The numbers are small but they are receiving about 90 visitors a day, which is still more than they are comfortable with. My guess is that given how isolated they are from the rest of the mainland, they may not be as well equipped to handle a rapid outbreak.

Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell stated that they are trying to figure out how many travelers are staying in bed and breakfast or vacation rentals, as they have plans to try to shut down those tourist spots. Once they have that data, they will be more equipped to act and know which type of reservations to prohibit.

The reason they are going after the hotels is that simply outright banning travelers from the mainland coming into the state is not constitutional. So if they make it virtually impossible or extremely difficult to secure any type of lodging then they will essentially have a tourist ban in effect (this could still present some legal issues I’m guessing).

For those wondering about the constitutionality, it comes from the “freedom of movement” that is largely governed by the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the Constitution.

It states, “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States” and has been construed as a fundamental constitutional right that includes the “right of free ingress into other States, and egress from them.”

In recent times the Supreme Court stated that the right to travel offers three rights:

• (1) the right to enter one state and leave another
• (2) the right to be treated as a welcome visitor rather than a hostile stranger
• (3) For those who become permanent residents of a state, the right to be treated equally to native-born citizens 

If you’ve been following some of the coronavirus policies that certain states contemplated, you can see how some of them have come very close or even over the line of violating the Constitution on this basis. But given how deep these rights are, this is why I don’t see full out domestic bans on travel being possible. It’s a pretty black and white issue but with all of this talk about us being in “wartime” things do start to get a bit blurry.