Council on Foreign Relations fellow warns Joe Biden could maintain travel ban ...

Council on Foreign Relations fellow warns Joe Biden could maintain travel ban ...
Council on Foreign Relations fellow warns Joe Biden could maintain travel ban ...

More than 18 months into the global coronavirus outbreak, restrictions on travel into the US are stricter than ever and could last until after the midterm elections next fall because of political calculations, according to a foreign policy expert. 

In a column published in Foreign Policy on Monday, Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, a prestigious nonpartisan think tank, blasted the Biden Administration's approach to travel bans as 'a thoughtless, unscientific policy' that causes more damage every day to both domestic economy and America's relations with other countries.

'Against all common sense, fully vaccinated travelers from many countries with much lower case rates than the United States remain blocked,' writes Alden, a visiting professor of US-Canada economic relations at Western Washington University.

Restrictions on foreign travel into the US are stricter than ever and could last until next fall

Restrictions on foreign travel into the US are stricter than ever and could last until next fall

US-Canada land borders has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020 to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus

US-Canada land borders has been closed to nonessential travel since March 2020 to try to slow the spread of the coronavirus

US-Mexico land border remains closed, but Mexicans are allowed to fly to the US

US-Mexico land border remains closed, but Mexicans are allowed to fly to the US

Under current rules as laid out on the US Department of State's website, which were last updated in late June, foreign travel to the US is barred from China, Iran, Schengen Area comprising 26 European countries, UK, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa and India.

These restrictions do not apply to US citizens and legal permanent residents, as well as their immediate family members.

Alden writes that liberals and conservatives both support travel restrictions, but for different reasons: those on the left are concerned about the spread of COVID-19, and those on the right seek to keep foreigners out. 

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, slammed the Biden Administration's approach to travel bans as 'a thoughtless, unscientific policy'

Edward Alden, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, slammed the Biden Administration's approach to travel bans as 'a thoughtless, unscientific policy'

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