The Biden Administration will reopen the land borders with Mexico and Canada to non-essential travel for all people who have completed their vaccination schedule and are authorized to enter the country legally.
Senior administration officials said the measure will take effect in early November, although they clarified in a call with journalists late Tuesday that they still do not have an exact date.
The authorities explained that
the reopening of the border will occur in two phases
,
ending 19 months of restrictions on leisure travel due to the pandemic, as vaccination against COVID-19 has advanced in these three North American countries.
A taxi driver in Hidalgo, Texas, waits for customers at the entrance to the McAllen Hidalgo International Bridge, on the border with Mexico;
on March 21, 2020.Eric Gay / AP
The first phase will begin in November,
at the same time as the new international flight system announced by the Administration last month.
"Beginning in November, we will begin allowing fully vaccinated travelers from Mexico and Canada to enter the United States for non-essential reasons [such as shopping or visiting family]," officials said.
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The second phase will begin in early January 2022
, when all visitors to the country who arrive by land, including those traveling for reasons considered essential, will be required to have their complete vaccination schedule.
"This phased approach will provide sufficient time for essential travelers, such as truckers and others, to get vaccinated, allowing for a smooth transition to this new system," officials said.
The authorities explained that the rule of Title 19, by which the border is kept closed to non-essential travel, will remain in force during the month of October and in the first days of November, after which it will be amended to include the provision that allows travel only to the vaccinated.
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Those in charge of implementing the rule will be Border Protection and Customs
(CBP)
agents
.
An official from this agency explained in Tuesday's call that border agents will ask travelers about their vaccination status before authorizing their entry to the country and will have the discretion to ask for the corresponding documentation that proves it in a second review, "either on paper or digitally ".
"Foreigners who are not fully vaccinated will not be allowed to enter the United States and instead will be asked to withdraw their application to enter the country and will be returned to Mexico or Canada," said a CBP official.
In the coming days, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will detail which Mexican and Canadian documents will be considered valid as proof of complete vaccination
.
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The health authority will also define which vaccines are accepted
, although it is expected to follow the same guidelines as with the new international flight system, in which both vaccines approved in the United States and those authorized by the World Health Organization are admitted ( WHO).
In both Mexico and Canada, many people have been inoculated with vaccines from different laboratories.
The CDC is analyzing whether in these cases they will be considered fully immunized, according to officials.
The Department of Homeland Security warned that
the future modification of Title 19 will not impact Title 42,
a sanitary rule due to the pandemic through which most migrants are expelled expeditiously and without the right to request asylum.
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"These are two different populations: with Title 19 they are people who have a legal permit to enter and will pass quickly through the ports of entry," said a Homeland Security official.
"With Title 42 they are people who do not have a legal permit to enter: irregular migrants who usually cross outside the ports of entry.
Those people are normally housed in environments where there is a lot of congregation and that is our real concern," he
added .
The announcement of the reopening of land borders comes at a time when
Mexico and Canada have increased their vaccination rates against the coronavirus
.
About 40% of the population is fully inoculated in Mexico and more than 50% have received at least one dose.
While in Canada and the United States more than 75% and 65%, respectively, have received at least one of the injections.
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