Migrants wait for U.S. authorities, between a barbed-wire barrier and the border fence at the US-Mexico border, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Wednesday, May 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Christian Chavez
WASHINGTON – It’s a tale of two borders today as the U.S. braces for the end of its COVID-19 restrictions: chaos in the Rio Grande Valley and concern along the 49th parallel.
President Joe Biden says it will be “chaotic for a while” at the U.S.-Mexico border once the public health measure known as Title 42 ends at midnight.
Up north, lawmakers and border communities say they worry that cross-border tourism may never fully recover from the pandemic without more federal help.
The U.S. is lifting its vaccination requirement for foreign travellers at the same time as Title 42, a Trump-era rule that allowed the immediate expulsion of asylum seekers.
More than 150,000 would-be migrants are amassing along Mexico’s northern border, and the U.S. is sending thousands more border officials and troops to deal with the influx.
No such surge is expected at the Canada-U.S. border, however, which worries tourism operators and elected officials in communities that depend on robust cross-border traffic.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 11, 2023.
