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Coronavirus Updates

The u.s. lifts the pandemic travel ban and opens the doors to international visitors.

The Associated Press

Passengers walk through Salt Lake City International Airport, Oct. 27, 2020. More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the U.K. and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status. Rick Bowmer/AP hide caption

Passengers walk through Salt Lake City International Airport, Oct. 27, 2020. More than a year and a half after COVID-19 concerns prompted the U.S. to close its borders to international travelers from countries including Brazil, China, India, South Africa, the U.K. and much of Europe, restrictions are shifting to focus on vaccine status.

The U.S. lifted restrictions Monday on travel from a long list of countries including Mexico, Canada and most of Europe, allowing tourists to make long-delayed trips and family members to reconnect with loved ones after more than a year and a half apart because of the pandemic.

Starting Monday, the U.S. is accepting fully vaccinated travelers at airports and land borders, doing away with a COVID-19 restriction that dates back to the Trump administration. The new rules allow air travel from previously restricted countries as long as the traveler has proof of vaccination and a negative COVID-19 test. Land travel from Mexico and Canada will require proof of vaccination but no test.

Airlines are expecting more travelers from Europe and elsewhere. Data from travel and analytics firm Cirium showed airlines are increasing flights between the United Kingdom and the U.S. by 21% this month over last month.

The change will have a profound effect on the borders with Mexico and Canada, where traveling back and forth was a way of life until the pandemic hit and the U.S. shut down nonessential travel.

Malls, restaurants and Main Street shops in U.S. border towns have been devastated by the lack of visitors from Mexico. On the boundary with Canada, cross-border hockey rivalries were community traditions until being upended by the pandemic. Churches that had members on both sides of the border are hoping to welcome parishioners they haven't seen during COVID-19 shutdown.

Loved ones have missed holidays, birthdays and funerals while nonessential air travel was barred, and they are now eager to reconnect.

River Robinson's American partner wasn't able to be in Canada for the birth of their baby boy 17 months ago because of pandemic-related border closures. She was thrilled to hear the U.S. is reopening its land crossings to vaccinated travelers.

"I'm planning to take my baby down for the American Thanksgiving," said Robinson, who lives in St. Thomas, Ontario. "If all goes smoothly at the border I'll plan on taking him down as much as I can. Is crazy to think he has a whole other side of the family he hasn't even met yet."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. will accept travelers who have been fully vaccinated with any of the vaccines approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization, not just those in use in the U.S. That means that the AstraZeneca vaccine, widely used in Canada, will be accepted.

For air travelers, the airlines are required to verify vaccine records and match them against ID, and if they don't, they could face fines of up to nearly $35,000 per violation. Airlines will also collect information about passengers for contact tracing efforts. There will be CDC workers spot-checking travelers for compliance in the U.S. At land borders, Customs and Border Protection agents will check vaccine proof.

The moves come as the U.S. has seen its COVID-19 outlook improve dramatically in recent weeks since the summer delta surge that pushed hospitals to the brink in many locations.

From vaccines to testing: What travelers need to know before the new US travel system on Nov. 8

• The U.S. is launching a new travel system on Nov. 8.
• Vaccinated foreign air travelers will need to show proof of full vaccination and test for COVID-19.
• The new travel system also adds more stringent testing requirements for unvaccinated U.S. travelers.

The United States is about to make it much easier for vaccinated international travelers to visit.  

The White House announced that a new air travel system will take effect Nov. 8, allowing entry for fully vaccinated foreign tourists .  The system is set to launch nearly two years after the U.S. began imposing travel restrictions to prevent the spread of COVID-19 . 

The move by the White House will essentially have the U.S. drop its travel ban on dozens of countries while also making entry more challenging for the unvaccinated. The new system will allow entry for foreign nationals only with vaccinations approved for emergency use by the World Health Organization and would add testing requirements for unvaccinated Americans.

Here’s what we know about the new travel requirements:

What are the entry requirements for foreign nationals?

Starting Nov. 8, non-citizen, non-immigrant air travelers   will need to show proof of full vaccination as well as a pre-departure negative coronavirus test taken within three days of travel before they can board a plane to the U.S. 

Learn more: Best travel insurance

Acceptable forms of proof of vaccination include:

• Digital or paper verifiable record, such as a vaccination certificate or a digital pass with a QR code.  
• Nonverifiable paper record, such as a printout of a COVID-19 vaccination record or COVID-19 vaccination certificate.
• Nonverifiable digital record, such as a digital photo of a vaccination card or record, downloaded vaccine record, downloaded vaccination certificate or a mobile phone application without a QR code.  

The U.S. will accept nucleic acid amplification tests, including PCR tests, and antigen tests. The rules will go into effect for passengers on planes leaving for the U.S. at or after 12:01 a.m. ET on Nov. 8.  

Airlines will collect basic personal contact information   from all U.S.-bound travelers for contact tracing. Airlines are required to keep the information on hand so the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention   can reach out to travelers who may have been infected or exposed to COVID-19.

Masking will be required, but there will be no quarantine mandate for vaccinated travelers or unvaccinated children .

► US  travel bans: How COVID-19 travel restrictions have impacted families and couples

The change will make entering the U.S. possible for travelers from countries now listed on the U.S. travel ban, which prohibits entry for travelers who have been in any of the regions within the past 14 days. The travel ban  took effect in early 2020 and includes :

• United Kingdom
• Republic of Ireland
• South Africa
• The European Schengen area (Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City)

Currently, the U.S. asks international air passengers only to get tested within three days of their flight to the U.S. and show either the negative test result or proof of recovery  from COVID-19 before boarding. 

What about the land borders with Mexico and Canada?

New travel rules will also take effect for foreign nationals arriving by land or passenger ferry.

Starting Nov. 8, fully vaccinated foreign nationals can cross the land borders for nonessential reasons such as tourism or visiting friends and family . These travelers will need to verbally attest to their reason for travel and vaccination status and be prepared to show proof of vaccination  upon request. U.S. Customs and Border Protection will accept both digital and paper records showing proof of vaccination, including documents not in English.   Foreign nationals will also need appropriate travel documentation to enter the country.  

CBP will spot-check travelers' vaccination documents, and those without documented proof of vaccination can be denied entry. Travelers under 18 will be exempt from the vaccination requirement as long as they are traveling with a fully vaccinated adult, according to Matthew Davies, CBP's executive director of admissibility and passenger programs.  

The new travel rules will go into effect as soon as a port of entry opens on Nov. 8, or at midnight for ports that operate 24 hours a day changes will go into effect at midnight on Nov. 8 for ports that operation 24 hours a day.  

U.S. citizens reentering the country should also bring a Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative document, such as a valid passport, trusted traveler program card, enhanced driver's license or enhanced tribal card. 

Entry rules along the border will change again in early January, with all travelers – including those traveling for essential purposes – required to show proof of full vaccination. 

► US land borders: Travelers in Mexico and Canada plan their next US visit after new land border policy announced

Which vaccines does the US accept for travel?

The CDC has announced that vaccines approved for emergency use by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and World Health Organization will be accepted for air travel. White House officials expect the CDC to approve the same vaccines for travelers entering the U.S. by land or ferry.  

The FDA has authorized three COVID-19 vaccines for emergency use during the pandemic: Moderna, Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer-BioNTech, the last of which has received the FDA's full stamp of approval.

Vaccines with WHO approval for emergency use include:

• Johnson & Johnson
• Pfizer-BioNTech
• Oxford-AstraZeneca/Covishield 

The CDC confirmed that it would accept a mix-and-match approach to vaccinations. Travelers who have any combination of FDA- or WHO-approved vaccines will be considered fully vaccinated.

The new travel policy does not accept foreign travelers who have had COVID and received just one shot in a two-dose series. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that the administration will "continue to review" its entry requirements.  

► Covaxin gets WHO emergency approval: Travelers vaccinated with Covaxin can enter US   

► 'You feel lonely and left out': These fully vaccinated travelers want to visit the US. They may not be allowed in.

How do the new rules affect kids? 

Foreign nationals under 18 are exempt from the vaccination requirement. Children under two will not need to take a pre-departure COVID test.

Kids 2 and older traveling with a fully vaccinated adult can test three days prior to departure, while children traveling alone or with unvaccinated adults will need to get tested within one day of departure. 

Currently, all air passengers 2 or older, including U.S. citizens and permanent residents, need to show a negative coronavirus test to fly to the U.S.

What are the entry requirements for Americans?

The new travel system adds more stringent testing requirements for unvaccinated U.S. travelers.

Starting Nov. 8, unvaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents will need to take a test one day before departure and test again upon arrival in the U.S. 

► New travel rules: What US travelers need to know about the new COVID rules for international flights

Entry requirements will not change for vaccinated Americans. They will still need to show proof of a negative coronavirus test taken no more than three days before departure. 

Americans will not need to be fully vaccinated to board international flights to the U.S.

Are there any exemptions?

There is a limited set of travelers who are exempt from the vaccine requirement for entry.

Children under 18, certain COVID-19 vaccine clinical trial participants and travelers with adverse reactions to the vaccines – such as people who have had severe anaphylactic allergic reactions to a prior COVID-19 vaccine –  will be exempt.

People traveling on non-tourist visas from countries with less than 10% of its population vaccinated who need to enter the U.S. for emergency or humanitarian reasons are also exempt from the vaccine requirement. There are about 50 countries considered to have low vaccine availability at this time.

These exempt travelers will generally need to show that they will comply with public health mandates, including a requirement to be vaccinated in the U.S. if they plan to stay more than 60 days.  

Unless they have recovered from COVID-19 within the last 90 days, unvaccinated travelers  must agree to be tested with a COVID-19 viral test three to five days after their arrival and quarantine for seven days, even if their post-arrival test comes back negative. 

Unvaccinated travelers who are not U.S. citizens or permanent residents must also agree to self-isolate if their post-arrival test is positive or if they develop COVID-19 symptoms. 

Unvaccinated children under 18 will not need to quarantine but will still need to take a post-arrival test. 

► Who is exempt?: These select groups of unvaccinated foreign travelers can enter the US

The CDC will not give exemptions  to people who object to the vaccinations due to religious or moral convictions. 

There will also be testing accommodations for travelers who can prove they recently recovered from the coronavirus. These travelers will need to show a positive COVID-19 viral test result on a sample taken no more than 90 days before their flight's departure and a letter from a licensed healthcare provider or public health official saying they are cleared for travel.  

Follow USA TODAY reporter Bailey Schulz on Twitter: @bailey_schulz . 

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• Find out how to apply for or renew your U.S. passport
• Learn how to get an international driver’s license
• Get information about international travel documents for minors

Learn about passports, travel documents for minors, and travel to, from, and within the U.S.

U.S. passports

Find out how to apply for or renew a passport and what to do if your passport is lost or stolen.

U.S. citizens traveling abroad

Learn about visa requirements, Trusted Traveler Programs like Global Entry, emergencies, and more.

International travel documents for children

See what documents a child needs to travel to or from the U.S. alone or with a parent or relative.

Travel to or within the U.S.

As a visitor, find out which documents you will need to travel to and drive in the U.S.

How to get a REAL ID and use it for travel

The REAL ID Act sets higher security standards for state-issued driver's licenses and ID cards.

Travel documents for foreign citizens returning to the U.S.

As a non-citizen U.S. resident, learn what documents you need to return to the U.S. if you leave.

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CBP One™ Mobile Application

A single portal for multiple CBP services to streamline your experience.

Trusted Traveler Programs

Which one is best for you?

What International Travelers Should Know Before Visiting

Cbp releases trade and travel fiscal year 2021 report.

Agency Adapts to Secure and Facilitate Essential Trade and Travel amid Pandemic.

Almost a million times each day, CBP officers welcome international travelers into the U.S. In screening both foreign visitors and returning U.S. citizens, CBP uses a variety of techniques to assure that global tourism remains safe and strong. Descriptions of CBP processes and programs are available for first-time and frequent travelers.

For U.S. Citizens/Lawful Permanent Residents

If you are a U.S. citizen traveling abroad, get the information you need to smoothly navigate your return back into the U.S.

For International Visitors

If you are a visitor to the U.S. coming to work, study, conduct business or immigrate, get the Information you need to smoothly navigate the process and procedures to enter the U.S.

CBP's Trusted Traveler Programs provide expedited travel for pre-approved, low-risk travelers through dedicated lanes and kiosks.

Ready Lanes

If you are a traveler coming to the U.S. through a land border Port of Entry and have a Ready Lane-eligible document, get the information you need to experience significantly faster processing.

If you are a traveler coming to the U.S. through a land border Port of Entry and have a Ready Lane-eligible document, get the information you need to benefit from dedicated primary vehicle and pedestrian lanes and experience significantly faster processing.

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• Fact Sheets

Fact Sheet: Presidential Proclamation to Suspend and Limit Entry and Joint DHS-DOJ Interim Final Rule to Restrict Asylum During High Encounters at the Southern Border

Today, the Biden-Harris Administration took decisive new action to strengthen border security, announcing a series of measures that restrict asylum eligibility, and significantly increase the consequences for those who enter without authorization across the southern border. These extraordinary steps, which will be in effect during times when high levels of encounters exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences, will make noncitizens who enter across the southern border ineligible for asylum with certain exceptions, raise the standard that is used to screen for certain protection claims, and speed up our ability to quickly remove those who do not qualify for protection.

These actions follow a series of steps that the Administration has taken over the past three years as it prepared for the end of the Title 42 public health Order, and since it was lifted last year, including surging personnel, infrastructure, and technology to the border, issuing the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways Rule, and referring record numbers of noncitizens into expedited removal. Over the past year, we have removed or returned more than three quarters of a million people, more than in any fiscal year since 2010. Despite these efforts, our outdated and broken immigration and asylum system, coupled with a lack of sufficient funding, make it impossible to quickly impose consequences on all noncitizens who cross irregularly and without a legal basis to remain in the United States.

The Administration has repeatedly called on Congress to provide the resources and legal authorities needed to secure our border. The measures announced today will better enable the Department to quickly remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States, strengthening enforcement and change the calculus for those considering crossing our border irregularly. However, they are no substitute for Congressional action. We continue to call on Congress to provide the new tools and resources we have asked for to support the men and women on the frontlines.

President Biden issued a Presidential Proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of noncitizens across the southern border. The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General also jointly issued an interim final rule that, consistent with the Proclamation, generally restricts asylum eligibility for those who irregularly enter across the southern border – including the Southwest land and the southern coastal borders. The rule also limits fear screenings to those who manifest a fear or express a desire to file for protection and heightens the screening standard for statutory withholding and claims under the Convention Against Torture. Taken together, these measures will significantly increase the speed and scope of consequences for those who cross our borders irregularly or who attempt to present themselves at Ports of Entry without authorization, allowing the Departments to more quickly remove individuals who do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States. The restriction on asylum eligibility will be discontinued when encounters fall below certain levels but will come back into effect if encounters rise again.

The rule makes three key changes to current processing under Title 8 immigration authorities during periods of high border encounters:

• First, noncitizens who cross the southern border unlawfully or without authorization will generally be ineligible for asylum, absent exceptionally compelling circumstances and unless they are excepted by the Proclamation.
• Second, noncitizens who cross the southern border and are processed for expedited removal while the limitation is in effect will only be referred for a credible fear screening with an Asylum Officer if they manifest or express a fear of return to their country or country of removal, a fear of persecution or torture, or an intention to apply for asylum.  
• Third, the U.S. will continue to adhere to its international obligations and commitments by screening individuals who manifest a fear as noted above and do not qualify for an exception to the Rule for withholding of removal and Convention Against Torture protections at a reasonable probability of persecution or torture standard – a new, substantially higher standard than is currently applied under the Circumvention of Lawful Pathways rule.  

Like the Proclamation, the rule provides for an end to these enhanced measures following a sustained reduction in southern border encounters. Specifically, these measures are in effect until 14 calendar days after there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of less than 1,500 encounters between the ports of entry. The measures would again go into effect, or continue, as appropriate, when there has been a 7-consecutive-calendar-day average of 2,500 encounters or more.

During periods of high encounters, the Proclamation will apply across the southern border. Lawful permanent residents, unaccompanied children, victims of a severe form of trafficking, and other noncitizens with a valid visa or other lawful permission to enter the United States are excepted from the Proclamation.

In addition, the suspension and limitation on entry and rule will not apply to noncitizens who use a Secretary-approved process—such as the CBP One mobile app—to enter the United States at a port of entry in a safe and orderly manner or pursue another lawful pathway.

Noncitizens who cross the southern border and who are not excepted from the Proclamation will be ineligible for asylum unless exceptionally compelling circumstances exist, including if the noncitizen demonstrates that they or a member of their family with whom they are traveling:

• faced an acute medical emergency;
• faced an imminent and extreme threat to life or safety, such as an imminent threat of rape, kidnapping, torture, or murder; or
• satisfied the definition of “victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons” currently provided in 8 CFR 214.11.

Consequences

Noncitizens who are subject to the rule’s limitation on asylum eligibility and who manifest or express a fear of return to their country or country of removal, express a fear of persecution or torture or an intention to apply for asylum, but do not establish a reasonable probability of persecution or torture in the country of removal will be promptly removed.

Those ordered removed will be subject to at least a five-year bar to reentry and potential criminal prosecution.

The Proclamation and rule will significantly enhance the security of our border by increasing the Departments’ ability to impose swift consequences for individuals who cross the southern border irregularly and do not establish a legal basis to remain in the United States.  Together, the Proclamation and rule make critical changes to how the Departments operate during times when encounters are at historically high levels—levels that, in the absence of these changes, undermine the government’s ability to process individuals through the expedited removal process. These changes will enable the Departments to quickly return those without a lawful basis to stay in the United States and thereby free up the asylum system for those with legitimate claims.

These extraordinary measures are a stop gap. Even with these measures in place, the Departments continue to lack the authorities and resources needed to adequately support the men and women on the frontlines. The Administration again calls on Congress to take up and pass the bipartisan reforms proposed in the Senate, which provide the new authorities, personnel, and resources that are needed to address the historic global migration that is impacting countries throughout the world, including our own. Until Congress does its part, we will continue to take any actions needed under current law and within existing resources to secure the border.

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FACT SHEET: President   Biden Announces New Actions to Secure the   Border

New actions will bar migrants who cross our Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum Biden taking action as Congressional Republicans put partisan politics ahead of national security, twice voting against toughest reforms in decades

Since his first day in office, President Biden has called on Congress to secure our border and address our broken immigration system. Over the past three years, while Congress has failed to act, the President has acted to secure our border. His Administration has deployed the most agents and officers ever to address the situation at the Southern border, seized record levels of illicit fentanyl at our ports of entry, and brought together world leaders on a framework to deal with changing migration patterns that are impacting the entire Western Hemisphere.  Earlier this year, the President and his team reached a historic bipartisan agreement with Senate Democrats and Republicans to deliver the most consequential reforms of America’s immigration laws in decades. This agreement would have added critical border and immigration personnel, invested in technology to catch illegal fentanyl, delivered sweeping reforms to the asylum system, and provided emergency authority for the President to shut down the border when the system is overwhelmed. But Republicans in Congress chose to put partisan politics ahead of our national security, twice voting against the toughest and fairest set of reforms in decades. President Biden believes we must secure our border. That is why today, he announced executive actions to bar migrants who cross our Southern border unlawfully from receiving asylum. These actions will be in effect when high levels of encounters at the Southern Border exceed our ability to deliver timely consequences, as is the case today. They will make it easier for immigration officers to remove those without a lawful basis to remain and reduce the burden on our Border Patrol agents. But we must be clear: this cannot achieve the same results as Congressional action, and it does not provide the critical personnel and funding needed to further secure our Southern border. Congress still must act. The Biden-Harris Administration’s executive actions will:   Bar Migrants Who Cross the Southern Border Unlawfully From Receiving Asylum

• President Biden issued a proclamation under Immigration and Nationality Act sections 212(f) and 215(a) suspending entry of noncitizens who cross the Southern border into the United States unlawfully. This proclamation is accompanied by an interim final rule from the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security that restricts asylum for those noncitizens.
• These actions will be in effect when the Southern border is overwhelmed, and they will make it easier for immigration officers to quickly remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.
• These actions are not permanent. They will be discontinued when the number of migrants who cross the border between ports of entry is low enough for America’s system to safely and effectively manage border operations. These actions also include similar humanitarian exceptions to those included in the bipartisan border agreement announced in the Senate, including those for unaccompanied children and victims of trafficking.

Recent Actions to secure our border and address our broken immigration system: Strengthening the Asylum Screening Process

• The Department of Homeland Security published a proposed rule to ensure that migrants who pose a public safety or national security risk are removed as quickly in the process as possible rather than remaining in prolonged, costly detention prior to removal. This proposed rule will enhance security and deliver more timely consequences for those who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States.

Announced new actions to more quickly resolve immigration cases

• The Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security launched a Recent Arrivals docket to more quickly resolve a portion of immigration cases for migrants who attempt to cross between ports of entry at the Southern border in violation of our immigration laws.
• Through this process, the Department of Justice will be able to hear these cases more quickly and the Department of Homeland Security will be able to more quickly remove individuals who do not have a legal basis to remain in the United States and grant protection to those with valid claims.
• The bipartisan border agreement would have created and supported an even more efficient framework for issuing final decisions to all asylum seekers. This new process to reform our overwhelmed immigration system can only be created and funded by Congress.

Revoked visas of CEOs and government officials who profit from migrants coming to the U.S. unlawfully

• The Department of State imposed visa restrictions on executives of several Colombian transportation companies who profit from smuggling migrants by sea. This action cracks down on companies that help facilitate unlawful entry into the United States, and sends a clear message that no one should profit from the exploitation of vulnerable migrants.
• The State Department also imposed visa restrictions on over 250 members of the Nicaraguan government, non-governmental actors, and their immediate family members for their roles in supporting the Ortega-Murillo regime, which is selling transit visas to migrants from within and beyond the Western Hemisphere who ultimately make their way to the Southern border.
• Previously, the State Department revoked visas of executives of charter airlines for similar actions.

Expanded Efforts to Dismantle Human Smuggling and Support Immigration Prosecutions

• The Departments of State and Justice launched an “Anti-Smuggling Rewards” initiative designed to dismantle the leadership of human smuggling organizations that bring migrants through Central America and across the Southern U.S. border. The initiative will offer financial rewards for information leading to the identification, location, arrest, or conviction of those most responsible for significant human smuggling activities in the region.
• The Department of Justice will seek new and increased penalties against human smugglers to properly account for the severity of their criminal conduct and the human misery that it causes.
• The Department of Justice is also partnering with the Department of Homeland Security to direct additional prosecutors and support staff to increase immigration-related prosecutions in crucial border U.S. Attorney’s Offices. Efforts include deploying additional DHS Special Assistant United States Attorneys to different U.S. Attorneys’ offices, assigning support staff to critical U.S. Attorneys’ offices, including DOJ Attorneys to serve details in U.S. Attorneys’ Offices in several border districts, and partnering with federal agencies to identify additional resources to target these crimes.

Enhancing Immigration Enforcement

• The Department of Homeland Security has surged agents to the Southern border and is referring a record number of people into expedited removal.
• The Department of Homeland Security is operating more repatriation flights per week than ever before. Over the past year, DHS has removed or returned more than 750,000 people, more than in every fiscal year since 2010.
• Working closely with partners throughout the region, the Biden-Harris Administration is identifying and collaborating on enforcement efforts designed to stop irregular migration before migrants reach our Southern border, expand investment and integration opportunities in the region to support those who may otherwise seek to migrate, and increase lawful pathways for migrants as an alternative to irregular migration.

Seizing Fentanyl at our Border

• Border officials have seized more fentanyl at ports of entry in the last two years than the past five years combined, and the President has added 40 drug detection machines across points of entry to disrupt the fentanyl smuggling into the Homeland. The bipartisan border agreement would fund the installation of 100 additional cutting-edge inspection machines to help detect fentanyl at our Southern border ports of entry.
• In close partnership with the Government of Mexico, the Department of Justice has extradited Nestor Isidro Perez Salaz, known as “El Nini,” from Mexico to the United States to face prosecution for his role in illicit fentanyl trafficking and human rights abuses. This is one of many examples of joint efforts with Mexico to tackle the fentanyl and synthetic drug epidemic that is killing so many people in our countries and globally, and to hold the drug trafficking organizations to account.

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NJ Health Department Alerts Residents of Travel-Associated Confirmed Measles Case, Urges Individuals To Stay Up to Date on Vaccines

TRENTON, NJ – The New Jersey Department of Health (NJDOH) is alerting residents about potential exposure associated with a confirmed, travel-associated case of measles. Individuals – especially parents, guardians, health care providers, and caregivers – are urged to be aware of the symptoms of this highly contagious virus and to stay up to date with the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) shots.

The confirmed case is a resident of Somerset County and developed measles following travel from a country that is currently experiencing an ongoing outbreak of measles.

Measles symptoms include a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery red eyes, and a rash that usually appears between three and five days after symptoms begin. The rash usually begins as flat red spots that appear on the face at the hairline and spread downward to the neck, torso, arms, legs, and feet. Measles can also cause serious complications, such as pneumonia and encephalitis (swelling of the brain), and can lead to miscarriage in pregnant people, premature birth, or a low-birth-weight baby.

Anyone who visited the following location at the specified date and times may have been exposed to the virus:

• Location: Emergency Department, Penn Medicine Princeton Medical Center 1 Plainsboro Road, Plainsboro Township, NJ 08536
• Date & Time: June 1, 2024 between 12:00 PM (noon) and 3:30 PM  

NJDOH recommends that anyone who visited the location listed above during the specified date and times should contact a health care provider immediately to discuss potential exposure and risk of developing the illness.

Potentially exposed individuals, if infected, could develop symptoms as late as June 26, 2024 . Contact tracing is underway. As of June 5, no additional associated cases have been identified.

The virus is easily spread through the air when someone coughs or sneezes and can remain in the air for up to two hours after an infected person leaves the area. People can also get sick when they come in contact with mucus or saliva from an infected person.

NJDOH is working in collaboration with local health officials and Penn Medicine to notify people who might have been exposed and to identify additional exposures that may have occurred. Those who may have been exposed or who suspect illness should call their health care provider first before arriving at any facility so that necessary infection prevention precautions can be taken to protect other patients and staff.

Individuals at risk include those who have not been fully vaccinated or have not had measles in the past.

NJDOH encourages all residents to stay up-to-date on routine vaccinations and especially recommends that New Jersey residents planning to travel , regardless of destination, are up to date on MMR shots .

MMR vaccine, administered in two doses, is safe and the most effective way to protect against measles, mumps, and rubella. The vaccine is also effective at preventing complications caused by these highly contagious diseases.

• NJDOH Factsheet on Measles Exposure
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Media advisory - fincen director andrea gacki to travel to arizona for beneficial ownership outreach events.

WASHINGTON – On June 11 and 12, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Andrea Gacki will travel to Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona, where she will participate in beneficial ownership reporting outreach events organized in partnership with Senator Kyrsten Sinema’s (I-AZ) office.

Under the Corporate Transparency Act—a bipartisan law enacted to curb illicit finance by supporting law enforcement efforts—many small businesses are now required to report basic information to the Federal government about the real people who ultimately own or control them. During both events, Director Gacki will meet with small business owners and other key stakeholders to discuss these new beneficial ownership reporting requirements. 

Filing is quick, secure, and free of charge. It is not an annual requirement: Unless a company needs to update or correct information, it only needs to file once. FinCEN expects that most companies will be able to file without the help of an attorney or accountant, and that the filing process for those with simple ownership structures may take 20 minutes or less. Companies that existed before 2024 have until January 1, 2025 to file, while companies created or registered in 2024 must file within 90 days of receiving creation/registration notice. More information, along with FinCEN’s E-Filing System, is available at https://www.fincen.gov/boi .

Opening remarks at both events are open to press, and Director Gacki will be available for interviews.

While in Tucson, Director Gacki will also lead a counter-fentanyl information exchange, which is closed to press. FinCEN’s  Promoting Regional Outreach to Educate Communities on the Threat of Fentanyl (PROTECT) information-sharing series, held in U.S. cities that are highly impacted by the opioid epidemic, brings law enforcement agencies and financial institutions together to share typologies and approaches on combatting illicit fentanyl trafficking.  

Who: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) Director Andrea Gacki

What: Beneficial ownership outreach events in Arizona 

When: Tuesday, June 11, 9:30 – 11 a.m.

Where: Tucson Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 823 E Speedway Blvd, Tucson

When: Wednesday, June 12, 2 – 4 p.m.

Where: Phoenix College, Hacienda Conference Room (F121) Parking: North parking lot, 3100-3148 N 11th Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85013

Media interested in covering this visit should RSVP to  [email protected] by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, June 10, to ensure they receive any relevant logistical information.

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Does Gov. Hochul, a Buffalo Native, Really Get New York City?

Governor Hochul is more of an outsider to New York City than most of her predecessors. Critics say that put her at a disadvantage in dealing with congestion pricing.

By Jesse McKinley and Nate Schweber

In Syracuse, she has overseen an ambitious $180 million project to remove a blighted viaduct and promised billions in financial support for a computer chip factory near the city. She gave Rochester, which has been a focus of an anti-poverty program , $100 million to help reconnect its downtown to surrounding neighborhoods.

And in Buffalo, her hometown, Gov. Kathy Hochul gave the football team, the Buffalo Bills, a new stadium with the help of hundreds of millions of dollars in state money , in what is expected to be the highest public outlay for a pro football stadium.

In her nearly three years as governor, Ms. Hochul has seemed comfortable displaying her upstate bona fides. Her relationship with New York City is not as deeply established nor, critics say, as politically fine-tuned, a dynamic on display on Wednesday when the governor announced a last-minute decision to indefinitely delay the implementation of the congestion pricing tolling plan in Manhattan.

It was a stunning turnabout, a whiplash moment that may appease commuters outside Manhattan who were upset at the prospect of yet another fee in an already expensive city that is still recovering from its pandemic-related economic swoon.

But the decision also infuriated many policy shapers and lawmakers, who said the governor had simply turned her back on some of the city’s most critical needs: funding the subway, reducing traffic and improving air quality.

Among the disenchanted were even people who disliked the idea of paying the congestion pricing fee to enter Manhattan south of 60th Street .

Mateo Flores, who works at a Midtown nonprofit and lives in Brooklyn, called Ms. Hochul’s decision “disrespectful” in its suddenness.

Ms. Flores, 24, who owns a car, said Ms. Hochul “has no idea what it’s like” to live and commute in the city. “You’re about to just impose something on us, and you just spring it on us, it was so abrupt and out of nowhere,” she said.

The suburban-urban split on congestion pricing is part of a broader and longstanding schism over issues like school funding, taxes and transportation. But Ms. Hochul is an outlier even amid that longstanding tension: She is a true upstater, one of a small clutch of politicians from outside New York City or its environs to be elected or serve as governor over the last century.

The short list’s most famous entrant is Franklin Delano Roosevelt, whose family estate in Hyde Park is somewhere in that fuzzy expanse separating upstate and downstate New York.

Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, makes her permanent home in western New York and rarely misses an opportunity to express pride in her roots in Buffalo, the state’s second most populous city. (She includes the hashtag #GoBills on her official profile on X.com .)

But the governor also keeps a heavily staffed office in Manhattan at which she spends many days and — like many newcomers to the borough — she rents an apartment in the city. She’s championed a variety of pro-city policies, evidenced in this year's budget , including mayoral control of the schools and an ambitious housing plan, as well as money to address the migrant crisis.

Still, even some fellow transplants say she doesn’t completely grasp the complexities of city life, including how residents depend on the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which oversees public transit in New York City and much of its suburbs and would have been the beneficiary of about $1 billion annually from the plan.

“She obviously doesn’t spend enough time down here to see what driving in the city is like,” said Jesse Park, an environmental consultant from Long Island who grew up in Leicester, N.Y., near Buffalo. “Or what riding the M.T.A. is like.”

The governor’s office has pushed back on the criticism, noting that the “pause” on congestion pricing had been cheered by a number of Democratic elected officials, largely from outside Manhattan, as well as several prominent city unions, including the United Federation of Teachers and New York City Police Benevolent Association.

“Governor Hochul is committed to the long-term future of New York City and has demonstrated that from Day 1, advancing policies and investments for New York City,” said Avi Small, a spokesman, citing her accomplishments, including a plan to save the M.T.A. from a “fiscal cliff” last year. He added: “Governor Hochul is proud of her upstate roots and she spends every day fighting for all of New York’s 62 counties.”

In a statement late Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams called Ms. Hochul “an invaluable partner for New York City,” citing her efforts on the migrant crisis, closing illegal cannabis shops and working for more affordable housing, among other issues. “That’s on top of investing in public safety on our streets and in our subways and so much more in the past,” he said. “New Yorkers are lucky to have a fighter like Governor Hochul in their corner.”

On Thursday, some in New York City said that if Hochul was disassociated from the city, it was good for New York State, which has seen two of its three previous governors resign in disgrace.

“She doesn’t get caught up in any drama like governors from the past,” said Victor Alonzo, 49, a Midtown concierge who lives in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn. “That’s what this city needs.”

Critics characterized Ms. Hochul’s reversal as a sop to the suburbs in an election year in which close races are expected in those areas, for both federal and state offices.

And they said she needed to learn more about New York City. “I think it’s a perfect time to encourage her to take public transportation so that she can begin to get a feel of what she missed out growing up in Buffalo,” State Senator Jessica Ramos, a Queens Democrat, said on Thursday. “Because we really do need her to stand up for the vast majority of us who are the economic engine of this state.”

Much of the criticism of the governor’s decision came from supporters of public transit, who gathered in Albany on Thursday for a “D-Day Rally to Save Congestion Pricing.” They attacked Ms. Hochul for “an outrageous betrayal of the public transit riders in New York City who delivered her narrow 2022 election victory.”

Blair Horner, the executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said Ms. Hochul’s recent support for congestion pricing — which was slated to start June 30 — made her decision on Wednesday all the more baffling.

“ How you go from 17 days ago saying ‘This is going to happen,’ to yesterday when you’re saying, ‘It’s not going to happen,’” he said. “Even for the voting public that is already jaded about how Albany operates, this must have been a shocker.”

But Ms. Hochul’s decision was hailed by Assemblyman Kenny Burgos, a Bronx Democrat, who said while he sympathized with those dealing with traffic in Manhattan, the plan would have been bad for his constituents, particularly if drivers diverted into his borough.

“The Bronx already has the worst air quality and the highest asthma rates in the entire nation,” he said, adding that he felt the M.T.A. needed to be fixed to lure riders back. “It’s a chicken before the egg thing. You have to get the public transit right if you want people and straphangers and commuters to actually utilize it.”

The complexity of the issue was voiced by Aimee Douglas, 34, who works in tech sales and lives in Midtown Manhattan with her husband. Car owners, they worried about the costs of congestion pricing, she said, particularly because Ms. Douglas is due to have their first child two weeks after congestion pricing was to take effect.

But as traffic haters, they looked forward to it.

Still, the governor’s move left Ms. Douglas feeling disconnected from Ms. Hochul. “I don’t think she really understands living in the city,” she said. “How bad traffic can really be, how miserable sitting in traffic can really be.”

Claire Fahy contributed reporting from Albany, N.Y.

Jesse McKinley is a Times reporter covering upstate New York, courts and politics. More about Jesse McKinley

Politics in the New York Region

Congestion Pricing: Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that she was shelving the long-awaited plan to implement congestion pricing , citing economic concerns, just weeks before it was to go into effect.

Doctor-Assisted Death: Legislation related to the emotional issue of so-called medical aid in dying has long languished in Albany. But a new push to legalize the practice has gained momentum .

Plastic Waste: As plastic continues to fill landfills and oceans, New York lawmakers are considering a proposal to limit single-use plastic products. Here’s what to know about the legislation .

A Quiet Suspension: A little-known New York State fund that paid the medical expenses of children who suffered neurological injuries as a result of medical malpractice during childbirth has been suspended .

Limiting Donations to Israel: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who rarely wades into state politics, publicly backed a bill  that could strip New York nonprofits of their tax-exempt status if their funds are used to support Israel’s military or settlements.

Transgender Student-Athlete Rules: A parent group in New York City asked for a review of rules that let students play on sports teams that align with their gender identity. Democratic officials responded angrily .

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News Release

Rockfall near weeping rock temporarily stops traffic on zion canyon scenic drive.

NPS / Ally O'Rullian

Contact: Zion News Desk , (435) 772-0162

SPRINGDALE, Utah – Around 3:40 p.m. on November 14, Zion National Park received a report of rockfall near Weeping Rock. Park rangers immediately responded and encountered a dust cloud on the road. The dust interrupted shuttle bus service until about 5 p.m. Shuttles returned to normal operations thereafter.

“Thankfully, park rangers did not need to treat any injuries,” Jeff Bradybaugh, Zion National Park Superintendent said. “Rockfall can happen at any time in this highly erosive landscape.”

Weeping Rock Shuttle Stop, parking area, and trail will remain closed until further notice while park scientists and maintenance staff assess rock in the area.

Last updated: November 14, 2023

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435-772-3256 If you have questions, please email [email protected]. Listen to recorded information by calling anytime 24 hours a day. Rangers answer phone calls from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. MT, but a ranger may not answer if they are already speaking with someone else.

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