U.S.-Mexico Border Non-Essential Travel Restrictions Extended to July 21
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2021
The United States Department of Homeland Security announced on Sunday, June 20, 2021, that the U.S.-Mexico Border non-essential travel restrictions were extended to July 21, 2021 by mutual agreement between the governments of Mexico and United States, disappointing U.S.-Mexico border cities, counties, and businesses who were expecting the land border travel restrictions would be lifted after 15 months in place.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated the extension of the non-essential travel restrictions were being extended “to reduce the spread of COVID-19….” along the U.S.-Mexico-Canada land borders.
The non-essential travel restrictions were initially implemented in March 2020 during President Trump’s Administration and have been extended monthly for 15 consecutive months allegedly to control the COVID-19 Pandemic between the three countries of U.S., Mexico, and Canada.
The U.S.-Mexico land border travel restrictions have adversely impacted border cities, counties, and businesses during the past 15 months with loss of trade, travel, retail sales, sales taxes, hotel occupancy taxes, and tourism estimated to be multi-billion dollars.
The City of Eagle Pass, Texas, whose city’s annual fiscal budget relies up to 60 percent of international bridge revenues, sustains between $350,000 to $500,000 in loss of revenues monthly since the controversial U.S.-Mexico border non-essential travel restrictions were implemented.
Eagle Pass Mayor Rolando Salinas, who is an ex-officio member of the Eagle Pass International Bridge System Board of Trustees, stated the City of Eagle Pass relies up to 60 percent of its annual fiscal budget from its two international bridges’ revenues.
Local retail businesses have sustained heavy financial losses during these past 15 months since the travel restrictions were implemented, causing many downtown Eagle Pass businesses to permanently close while those still operating are hanging on by the threads as their sales have drastically been reduced with the loss of Mexican retail consumers being unable to cross into the United States for shopping and trade purposes.
U.S. Vice-President Kamala Harris visited Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on June 8, 2021 in Mexico City to discuss salient U.S.-Mexico issues, including the non-essential travel restrictions. A task force has been created to review the non-essential travel restrictions between U.S., Mexico, and Canada as well as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following Vice-President Harris’s visit to Mexico, the United States has donated millions of COVID-19 vaccines to Mexico to assist it with the vaccination of its citizens, particularly along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Last week, Mexico began a mass vaccination campaign in the border state of Baja California, including cities such as Mexicali and Tijuana, using over 1.5 million COVID-19 vaccines donated by the United States. The Mexican border states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Tamaulipas will follow suit as the United States donates additional vaccines in hopes of lifting soon the travel restrictions.
Eagle Pass businesses anxiously await the lifting of the non-essential travel restrictions to Mexicans so that they can start getting back to normal provided they can stay open until whenever they are lifted.
