Thousands of families remain separated 16 months after US COVID border closures

Thousands of people in the United States have been separated from their families because of a strict lockdown of the country’s borders, which is yet to be eased despite the widespread distribution of COVID-19 vaccines on both sides of the Atlantic.

Many are urging the administration of President Joe Biden to allow general travel to and from the United States, with families expressing anger over the forced separations on social media.

“It's like he has disappeared,” said Julien Rocher, a French resident who has been able to see his 11-year-old son Zadig only once in 15 months, according to AFP. Zadig lives in the United States with his mother.

“It is hard to maintain family ties over time with such a distance,” Rocher told AFP. “I didn't understand right away the impact on our relationship. But the second summer has arrived and I have the feeling of completely melting down. It's like he has disappeared.”

When the COVID-19 threat first emerged, the US government shut the country’s borders to travelers from China in January 2020. The travel ban was soon extended to include people from Canada, most of Europe, Britain and Ireland, and then to Brazil in May of that year.

Earlier this year, the US government banned flights from India and South Africa after new, more dangerous variants of the coronavirus were detected in those countries.

The lockdowns did not affect US citizens and permanent residents returning from abroad. But they did affect tourists and people with temporary work visas and long-stay visas. US consulates have all but shut down visa application process.

EU says border closure ‘not the best way’ to stem new coronavirus

European countries have fully or partially sealed their borders to non-nationals.

Many people are particularly angry over the US government's lack of reciprocity after the European Union announced on May 20 that it was reopening frontiers to travelers, including Americans, just ahead of the summer season.

Some families have shared harrowing stories of how the tight lockdown has personally affected them and members of their families.

Phil and Michell White, a British couple who live and work near San Francisco, told AFP that each lost their mother this spring but they could not travel to see them before they died. They had to follow the funerals by streaming video.

“The day before my mother's funeral, my mother-in-law passed away,” Phil told AFP. “My wife was able to say goodbye to her mum via FaceTime. I sadly didn’t even have that opportunity.”

Phil White said he felt like a victim of “discrimination” when the American workers in his company are free to travel back and forth to Britain, while he and his wife cannot.

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