Since the outset of the declaration of a global pandemic, the communities and businesses along the United States’ borders with Mexico and Canada have, like every other community in the country, been affected from both a public health and economic standpoint.

But border communities’ economic health is directly tied to their ability to serve as gateways to international commerce. As a result, the cross-border travel restrictions instituted by the Department of Homeland Security have uniquely impacted border cities and towns more acutely than other U.S. communities.

The attached letter and position paper describe the challenges facing border communities’ public and private sectors amid the ongoing restrictions on cross-border travel. It is the hope of the Border Trade Alliance that you will raise these important issues with the administration as together we seek a way forward toward the safe and responsible reopening of cross-border travel as soon as possible.