Press Releases

Today, Congresswoman Suzan DelBene (WA-01) released the following statement on the announcement that the Biden administration will allow fully vaccinated Canadians to enter the United States by land and water travel starting in November:

“For nineteen long months, our border communities have lived in a state of hardship and frustration, waiting month-to-month for news that the northern border would reopen and they could begin to move past this crisis. In that time, families have moved elsewhere, businesses have closed, and some communities are unrecognizable from where they started during this crisis.

“Our border communities can finally see the light at the end of this long, dark tunnel with the Biden administration’s announcement that fully vaccinated Canadians will be able to travel to the United States by land and sea just as they’ve been able to do by plane. The administration’s policy now follows the science. 

“This is just the start of the next chapter. For many border communities, especially Point Roberts, they will need additional support and resources to build back better and I will continue to champion their voices in Congress.”

DelBene has pushed both the Trump and Biden administrations to follow the science and safely reopen the Canada-U.S. Border. In September, she called for border policy to align with recent changes in air travel policy from Europe and elsewhere. In August, she pushed for a special exemption for Point Roberts so that Canadians could travel into the exclave community. In July, she visited Point Roberts to hear from community members about the hardships of this crisis. DelBene first raised issues around the border closure impact in August 2020.