NOAA lists 20 coral species as threatened under the endangered species act.

[MitchM]

Originally Posted by Scythanith

Unfortunately it won't matter. The customs/border agent see's a "stick like" coral and holds up the shipment for a CWS agent to come and look at it. By the time CWS gets there to look at it it's like been a couple days and the coral will be dead. The risk to store owners/importers will become too great.

Dead is the only way you can accurately identify an acropora anyways.

....

....sounds like the inspection process itself will become a hazard to corals.