(Headline USA) As illegal immigration helps drive the second major wave of the coronavirus pandemic in pro-freedom states where many remain unvaccinated, foreigners who simply plan to visit will face far more restrictive entry requirements.
The Biden administration is taking the first steps toward imposing its own “travel ban,” similar to that implemented by the Trump administration against terrorist-harboring countries.
The White House confirmed Wednesday that it was planning to require nearly all foreign visitors to the U.S. to be vaccinated for the coronavirus.
No timeline has yet been determined, as interagency working groups study how and when to safely move toward resuming normal travel, but eventually all foreign citizens entering the country, with some limited exceptions, will be expected to need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 to enter the U.S.
The Biden administration has kept in place travel restrictions that have severely curtailed international trips to the U.S., citing the spread of the delta variant of the virus.
But it has faced pressure to lift some restrictions from affected allies, the air travel industry and families who have been kept separated from loved ones by the rules.
Meanwhile, for those seeking to enter the country illegally, there have been virtually no safeguards in place. With thousands crossing the southern border—and others being flown into the country by open-borders activist groups, the Department of Homeland Security has had to outsource any COVID screenings to nonprofit agencies, who are not obligated to report how many positive tests come back.
When pressed at a recent briefing to address whether there was concern about this loophole in the otherwise draconian COVID policies, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki shrugged off the issue, saying the potentially infected asylum seekers were furnished with masks.
But according to Fox News, in one city alone, McAllen, Texas, the government has released at least 7,000 COVID-positive illegals since February. Many are then bused to different parts of the country under cover of night.
After White House officials tried to pin Florida’s recent surge in hospitalization rates on Gov. Ron DeSantis, the Republican leader answered back by calling out Biden for failing to do his job at the border.
DESANTIS TO BIDEN: “Why don’t you do your job? Why don’t you get this border secure? And until you do that, I don’t wanna hear a blip about COVID from you, thank you.”
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— Benny (@bennyjohnson) August 4, 2021
Adapted from reporting by the Associated Press
