US won’t open border for another month, but Maine leaders push back
The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it will extend nonessential travel restrictions to Canada and Mexico until at least Aug. 21, despite Canada's recent announcement that it may reopen its border to fully vaccinated travelers from the U.S. as early as Aug. 9.
Maine’s congressional delegation and the governor are calling on the administration to reopen the border, stating concerns for Maine’s economy and families.
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Angus King, I-Maine, and U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine 1st District, and Jared Golden, D-Maine 2nd District, sent a joint letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, urging the federal government to allow fully vaccinated Canadians to cross the U.S.-Canada border for business or leisure.
In the letter, the delegation highlighted the effects of the long-term border closure on Maine businesses and families.
“The State of Maine is inextricably bound to our Canadian neighbors,” said Gov. Janet Mills in a statement. “Our ties stretch across our economy, our culture and our families. The decision to prolong the border closure on our end only diminishes these ties, hurts local economies and separates families, particularly in northern and eastern Maine, whose relatives in Canada will be unable to travel here to see their loved ones.
"I share the federal government’s concern about the spread of COVID-19, but vaccines are now available and Canada’s vaccination rate now exceeds that of the United States. The time has come for the U.S. government to safely open the border.”
In explaining the continued border closing, the Department of Homeland Security cited the risk of the continued transmission and spread of COVID-19 between the U.S. and Canada, which “poses an ongoing ‘specific threat to human life or national interests," according to a notice Federal Register on Thursday.
Canada leads G20 countries in vaccination rates with approximately 80% of eligible Canadians vaccinated with their first dose and over 50% fully vaccinated.
In the U.S., 56% of the total population has received one dose and 49% is fully vaccinated, according to the latest figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Both Canada and the U.S. closed their borders to nonessential travel at the start of the pandemic in March 2020, which has affected tourism, retail businesses and trade, most acutely in states like Maine that share a border with Canada.
Canadian statistics show that tourists from that country spend an average $19 billion in the U.S. every year. In Maine, Canadians spent $290 million during 2017, according to the most recent data available from the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service. Nearly 300 Canadian-owned businesses employ 17,000 New Englanders.
The Maine delegation has been pushing the federal government to adjust or reevaluate restrictions on nonessential travel since last fall.
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