Jurist US extends land travel restrictions with Canada and Mexico by 30 days

[Dadparvar]

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), together with the Secretary of State and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), on Monday extended nonessential land border travel restrictions with Canada and Mexico by an additional 30 days. This means that the restrictions will remain in place through August 21.

Noting the continued spread of the COVID-19 virus globally and within the US and highlighting the four million confirmed cases in Canada and Mexico, the government stated that the risk of transmission between the three countries posed a “specific threat to human life or national interests.”

According to the statement published by the DHS:

[G]iven the sustained human-to- human transmission of the virus, coupled with risks posed by new variants, returning to previous levels of travel between the two nations places the personnel staffing land ports of entry between the United States and Canada, as well as the individuals traveling through these ports of entry, at increased risk of exposure to the virus associated with COVID-19. Accordingly . . . I have determined that land ports of entry along the U.S.-Canada border will continue to suspend normal operations and will only allow processing for entry into the United States of those travelers engaged in “essential travel”. . . [T]his temporary alteration in land ports of entry operations should not interrupt legitimate trade between the two nations or disrupt critical supply chains that ensure food, fuel, medicine, and other critical materials reach individuals on both sides of the border.

The travel restriction notices, which are identical for Canada and Mexico, then go on to define “essential travel or travelers” as including among other things, reentry of US citizens and permanent residents, travel for medical purposes, travel for educational purposes such as international students, official government or diplomatic travel, members of the armed forces, their spouses, children, etc.

Although these restrictions have been extended in the wake of Canada’s announcement of easing of restrictions beginning August 9, they do not apply to any form of air travel and only apply to passenger rail, passenger ferry, and pleasure boat travel between the three countries. Air travelers from Canada and Mexico are still permitted to enter the US, provided they take the pre-travel RTPCR test within 72 hours of travel.

Noting that DHS is working closely with its counterparts in Canada and Mexico “to identify conditions under which restrictions may be eased safely and sustainably,” the DHS noted that these notices “may be amended or rescinded prior to that time, based on circumstances associated with the specific threat.”

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