WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) issued the statement below following the announcement that the Department of Homeland Security will allow non-essential travelers who have been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 to enter the United States via land and ferry ports of entry across the U.S. border with Canada. This will take effect in November.
“This is good news. As chair of the Senate group working with the Canadian parliament, I’ve long advocated to safely open up both land and air travel between the United States and Canada. Businesses have suffered and friends and family have been separated for too long. As the Mayor of Duluth would say—we can see the lighthouse on the horizon. This is an important step as we continue to fight our way out of this pandemic.”
Klobuchar has been committed to safely opening the United States-Canada border.
Most recently, Klobuchar led a bipartisan group of her colleagues in seeking clarification from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky on the medical justifications for the United States’ ban on all travelers from entering the country for non-essential purposes via land, but not via plane. In September, Klobuchar also urged the Biden Administration to end land-crossing restrictions.
In May, Klobuchar sent a letter to Kirsten Hillman, Ambassador of Canada to the U.S., calling for the easing of travel restrictions impacting Northwest Angle residents. Shortly after, several restrictions were eliminated. This also followed a meeting of the Canada-U.S. Interparliamentary Group that was chaired by Klobuchar where she led a comprehensive discussion between 10 United States Senators and 14 Canadian Parliamentarians on topics of mutual concern. During the meeting, Klobuchar urged action to begin safely easing border restrictions.
In April, Klobuchar sent a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas urging them to work with the Canadian government to explore options to safely ease some border restrictions between the U.S. and Canada.
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