The U.S. is continuing to keep its borders closed to nonessential travelers from Canada and Mexico for a 16th month citing the surging delta variant.
Now the U.S. is acting alone in what started as a mutual agreement with Canada and Mexico.
In a tweet, Mexico’s State Department said that keeping the border closed is a U.S. decision and argued that a rising vaccination rate in Mexico is creating conditions that benefit both countries.
Then there’s U.S. lawmakers.
New York Democrat Brian Higgins argued on the House floor this week that it’s time to reopen.
"It’s time for the United States to align its border policy with the science, the facts and with the data. Action is long overdue. Open the U.S. border to our Canadian neighbors, I yield back," he said.
And in southern Arizona, Democrat Raul Grijalva called for a balanced solution that keeps people safe while not putting their livelihoods at risk. In an emailed statement, Grijalva said:
"That’s why I’ve called on the Biden administration to donate unused vaccines to Mexican border communities to quickly vaccinate border residents and allow them to resume nonessential travel to the United States while keeping our communities safe from COVID-19.”