U.S.-Mexico border stays closed to non-essential travel until July 21

WASHINGTON, DC -- The United States has extended its agreement with Mexico and Canada to keep their borders closed to non-essential travel until July 21 during the coronavirus pandemic.

Previously set to be lifted on Sunday, those restrictions will now last until at least July 21. 

“Based on the success of the existing restrictions and the emergence of additional global Covid-19 hot-spots, the Department will continue to limit non-essential travel at our land ports of entry with Canada and Mexico,” acting U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said in a statement. “This extension protects Americans while keeping essential trade and travel flowing as we reopen the American economy.”

Mexico’s foreign ministry also confirmed the move in a tweet on Tuesday, saying that they had "agreed to extend for 30 days more restrictions on non-essential land traffic on their common border, after reviewing the development of the spread of Covid-19 in Mexico and the United States."

It added that the restrictions will have the same terms that were set when the implementation was first made. Those restrictions allow trade but significantly reduce most other cross-border traffic. 

The extension decision comes as the U.S., Mexico and Canada all continue to battle rising cases of the virus, with the U.S. posting the highest infection count in the world and Mexico accused of under-counting cases an deaths during the pandemic.

🇲🇽 y 🇺🇸 han acordado extender por 30 días más las restricciones al tránsito terrestre no esencial en su frontera común, tras revisar el desarrollo de la propagación de COVID-19 en México y en EE. UU.

— Relaciones Exteriores (@SRE_mx) June 16, 2020