Vehicle, rail and ferry travel between the U.S. and Canada and Mexico has been largely restricted to essential travel, such as trade, since the earliest days of the pandemic. The new rules, to be announced Wednesday, will allow fully vaccinated foreign nationals to enter the U.S. regardless of the reason for travel starting in early November, when a similar easing of restrictions is set to kick in for air travel into the country. By mid-January, even essential travelers seeking to enter the U.S., like truck drivers, will need to be fully vaccinated.

Senior administration officials previewed the new policy late Tuesday on the condition of anonymity to speak ahead of the formal announcement.

Both Mexico and Canada have pressed the U.S. for months to ease restrictions on travel that have separated families and curtailed leisure trips since the onset of the pandemic. The latest move follows last month’s announcement that the U.S. will end country-based travel bans for air travel, and instead require vaccination for foreign nationals seeking to enter by plane.

Both policies will take effect in early November, the officials said. They did not specify a particular date.

The new rules only apply to legal entry to the U.S. Officials cautioned that those seeking to enter illegally will still be subject to expulsion under so-called Title 42 authority, first invoked by former President Donald Trump, that has drawn criticism from immigration advocates for swiftly removing migrants before they can seek asylum. One of the officials said the U.S. was continuing the policy because cramped conditions in border patrol facilities pose a COVID-19 threat.

According to the officials, travelers entering the U.S. by vehicle, rail and ferry will be asked about their vaccination status as part of the standard U.S. Customs and Border Protection admissions process. At officers’ discretion, travelers will have their proof of vaccination verified in a secondary screening process.

Unlike air travel, for which proof of a negative COVID-19 test is required before boarding a flight to enter the U.S., no testing will be required to enter the U.S. by land or sea, provided the travelers meet the vaccination requirement.

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.

Officials said the CDC was still working to formalize procedures for admitting those who received doses of two different vaccines, as was fairly common in Canada.

The delay in the vaccination requirement for essential cross-border travel is meant to provide truck drivers and others with additional time to get a shot and minimize potential economic disruption from the vaccination mandate, officials said.

All told, the new procedures move toward a policy based on the risk profiles of individuals, rather than less targeted country-based bans.

The vaccination requirement for foreign nationals comes as the White House has moved to impose sweeping vaccination-or-testing requirements affecting as many as 100 million people in the U.S. in an effort to encourage holdouts to get shots.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Labor completed the initial draft of an emergency regulation that will require employers of 100 workers or more to demand their employees be vaccinated against COVID-19 or tested weekly. The Office of Management and Budget is now reviewing the order before its implementation.

Mexico has not put in place any COVID-19 entry procedures for travelers. Canada allows entry of fully-vaccinated individuals with proof of vaccination against COVID-19 as well as proof of a negative test conducted within 72 hours of entry to the country.

Source: https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/u-s-to-reopen-land-borders-in-november-for-fully-vaccinated/

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The U.S. Department of Labor headquarters stands in Washington, D.C. — Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg

A watchdog warned the Department of Labor Friday that lax requirements for claiming expanded unemployment benefits make those programs “highly vulnerable” to fraud.

Those making claims have to self-certify that they have lost income because of a coronavirus-related reason, which could include contracting the disease or having their workplace shutdown to slow the spread. With such a certification they are immediately eligible for a weekly $600 benefit that Congress approved in March, the Labor Department Inspector General’s office said in a memorandum released Friday.

People are also able to claim benefits that vary by state.

“Consequently, an individual could continue to receive an average of $775 per week based solely on an initial undocumented self-certification statement that one of the COVID-19 related reasons were met,” according to the memorandum, which was written by Elliot Lewis, the assistant inspector general for audit.

The Inspector General’s office said states should require claimants to document their reduced earnings to establish that they meet the criteria for the $600 weekly federal benefit, also known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance.

“We believe that reliance solely on claimant self-certifications without evidence of eligibility and wages renders the PUA program highly vulnerable to improper payments and fraud,” the memo said.

Earlier: Americans on Jobless Benefits Post First Drop of Pandemic

Democrats have criticized Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia for moving too slowly to distribute the benefits and for making it more difficult for gig workers to claim the assistance. The memo is part of a continuing audit of the program and did not cite any instances of fraud.

Expanded unemployment benefits were one of several economic rescue measures that Congress negotiated to curb the fallout from shutting down much of the economy for several weeks. The benefits are scheduled to be available through the end of July. Democrats are pushing to extend the program, while Republicans have said they should wait to see how the economy is performing later in the summer.

More than 40 million people have filed for unemployment since the middle of March when many cities and states began closing large portions of their economies. The May jobs report, slated to be released next week, is expected to show an unemployment rate of about 20% and many economists say it will take years for the U.S. economy to recover from the pandemic.

Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-29/watchdog-warns-of-significant-fraud-with-unemployment-money

The post Watchdog Warns of ‘Significant’ Fraud with Unemployment Money first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.