‘Not time to change course.’ Canada, Mexico borders to remain shut through June 22

The United States will keep its land borders with Canada and Mexico closed through June 22, a monthlong extension of restrictions that were put in place to slow the global spread of the coronavirus pandemic, the Department of Homeland Security said.

The restrictions “do not apply to air, freight rail, or sea travel” between the United States and Canada or Mexico, but do apply “to passenger rail, passenger ferry travel, and pleasure boat travel,” according to the DHS notifications.

Canada and Mexico “agree that extending these restrictions is prudent,” DHS said in a statement Tuesday evening.

Homeland Security Acting Secretary Chad Wolf said that “legitimate commercial trade” would continue to flow across both borders, as the Trump administration increases its clampdown on illegal drug trafficking.

“Our efforts over the last several months to limit non-essential travel have been successful and now is not the time to change course,” Wolf said in a statement. “Non-essential travel will not be permitted until this administration is convinced that doing so is safe and secure.”

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Tuesday that the two governments might need to implement greater precautionary measures — like testing at the border for all entrants each way — before proceeding with reopening.

“We know that we need to do more to ensure that travelers who are coming back from overseas or from the United States as Canadians are properly followed up on,” Trudeau said.

U.S. states have begun reopening their economies. Mexico plans to begin reopening the country over the next two weeks.

Michael Wilner

McClatchy DC

202-383-6083

Michael Wilner is an award-winning journalist and was McClatchy’s chief Washington correspondent. Wilner joined the company in 2019 as a White House correspondent, and led coverage for its 30 newspapers of the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic, the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, and the Biden administration. Wilner was previously Washington bureau chief for The Jerusalem Post. He holds degrees from Claremont McKenna College and Columbia University and is a native of New York City.

Tara Copp

McClatchy DC

Tara Copp is the national military and veterans affairs correspondent for McClatchy. She has reported extensively through the Middle East, Asia and Europe to cover defense policy and its impact on the lives of service members. She was previously the Pentagon bureau chief for Military Times and a senior defense analyst for the U.S. Government Accountability Office. She is the author of the award-winning book “The Warbird: Three Heroes. Two Wars. One Story.”