The Trump administration will indefinitely continue a ban on all nonessential travel at the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
The closure at all land ports of entry along the southern and northern borders began in late March and was set to expire on Monday.
“Based on the success of the existing restrictions and the emergence of additional global COVID-19 hot spots, the department will continue to limit nonessential travel at our land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico,” acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement. “This extension protects Americans while keeping essential trade and travel flowing as we reopen the American economy.”
Wolf said his Canadian and Mexican counterparts support the country’s continuation of the travel ban.
The travel suspensions are at the recommendation of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which ordered the restrictions and their subsequent renewals each month on the grounds that allowing nonessential travelers, such as tourists, to enter the United States poses a public safety risk.
The CDC has yet to announce if its recommendation, the basis for DHS’s response, will continue beyond next week. But DHS decided to act on its own.
Exceptions to the travel limitations include U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents returning to the U.S., people traveling for medical reasons, people going to school, people who work in the farming or agriculture industries, emergency and public health officials, members of the U.S. military, and commercial employees involved in cross-border trade.
Immigrants who illegally cross the border between official crossing points will continue to be returned immediately to their home countries instead of being taken into custody. Customs and Border Protection has said the immediate returns prevent the spread of the virus that would occur if migrants were held in close quarters at its facilities.
