US Biden Travel Ban: Let’s Look At All The Broken Promises
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US Biden Travel Ban: Let’s Look At All The Broken Promises

US Biden Travel Ban Europeans still banned from America
Europeans have been waiting for months for news of the lifting of what’s now known as the US Biden travel ban. Instead, there has been nothing but empty and broken promises. Photo by Dino Reichmuth.

When it comes to the US Biden travel ban on Europe and others, is President Biden breaking promises? Not simply about ending it, but at least addressing it. Or making some kind of announcement on it.

For there have been a lot of empty promises – and comments – over the past few weeks. Actually, broken promises and contradictions between words and actions on the travel ban since before Joe Biden came into power.

Let’s look at a timeline of those.

TIMELINE OF EMPTY PROMISES ON US BIDEN TRAVEL BAN

March 13, 2020 

It all began with these now-famous words on March 13, 2020.

“A wall will not stop the coronavirus. Banning all travel from Europe — or any other part of the world — will not stop it,” Biden tweeted.

Ok, so as it turns out, walls, lockdowns, travel bans, strict entry tests may have worked. Once upon a time. As blanket responses to COVID. Faced with a no better, more finely tuned response. But Biden sure suggested months before coming to power that the Europe travel ban was somehow pointless. Even if that was not entirely the case, it sure seems so today. And has done so for months. Particularly 4 months after the EU first lifted all restrictions on vacationing Americans.

BIDEN – HOLLOW PROMISES EVEN TO EUROPEAN LEADERS

July 15, 2021

Even when sitting opposite the leader of Europe’s superpower Germany, Biden has not exactly lived up to his words. Actually, he’s failed. In a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in mid-July, President Biden indicated he would be able to make an  announcement soon on the fate of the US travel ban for the EU. Which I guess begs the question, what’s his idea of soon? 2023?

When Merkel pressed him on the issue, he said his COVID response team was reviewing the ban and some kind of announcement was forthcoming.

“It’s in process now,” Biden said at the White House. Then added he’d be “able to answer that question … in the next several days.”

Yet here we are, almost two months later. Nothing. Not even a hint for all those broken hearts, broken families, broken lives, on when it might be lifted.

August 5, 2021

Then, in early August, the Biden administration said it was working on a plan to re-open travel to all vaccinated travelers, Reuters reported. Still nothing.

Even in the Machiavellian, mercurial world of politics, it’s hardly surprising that many politicians in Europe are losing their patience with the unfairness of the ongoing US travel ban.

One sign of that may well be the revived EU travel ban on the US. Even if several countries including France, Greece, and Spain are still choosing not to enforce it.

Who knows what’s around the corner.

Patience Thins On Ban That Has “Outlived Its Purposes”

Meanwhile, patience is thinning in Europe. Actually, by concerned parties on both sides of the Atlantic.

In early September, Ireland’s Ambassador to the US Dan Mulhall said the ban on travel from Europe to the US is “damaging relations.” I hazard a guess they have been deeply damaged in fact. On a trust level.

Célia Belin, a visiting fellow in foreign policy at Washington think-tank the Brookings Institution calls it “unremitting bureaucratic purgatory.” For her, it “is cruel and has outlived its purpose.”

Europe Travel Ban: One Of Many Broken Promises?

Clearly, what’s now known as the US Biden travel ban is not the only broken promise. This flies in the face of the findings of one study, that found “promises made were promises kept”. Though I’m sure many would doubt that.

For within days of coming to power, Biden reneged on his promise. Or at least, did a serious backflip on his pre-elected position on the ban. So should we be at all surprised now?

For me, reporting and commenting on this issue since the beginning, in March 2020, it sure seems like empty if not broken promises. Just when will President Biden hear, and respond to, the urgent calls to open those borders now. Let alone to the science.

9 Comments

  1. David M

    Biden’s regular deferment of doing and saying anything concrete about the travel ban strongly indicates he is striving to keep it in place until it eventually becomes untenable. I would say that point passed some time ago, but here we are with November now being mooted as the potential end date.
    Personally, I have no family or friends in the USA, I just love travelling there and I miss it very much.

    The original Trump ban came into force 12 hours and 15 minutes before we were due to fly in March 2020. While very upset, we accepted the situation and regarded the holiday as being postponed, rather than cancelled.

    We now have flights and accommodation booked for late April/early May 2022. It is a trip we are very keen to make as we will get to visit the Florida Keys and North and South Carolina for the first time. We will also be revisiting DC and New York City.

    If no firm announcement has been made by the end of November, we will be cancelling and switching our plans to a Canadian road trip from Toronto to Vancouver.

    For us, a big part of travel is the months of eager anticipation that precedes the trip. At the moment, all we have been feeling is anxiety and stress.

    1. Tamara Thiessen

      Gosh yes travel plans reduced to constant anxiety. That’s this in a nutshell. I can’t imagine how you could possibly not have a 2022 trip! And I love the 🇺🇸 too for many similar reasons + family. The landscapes are out of this world.

  2. NalaLala

    Thanks for your article. I am starting to wonder if this has much more to do with the state of crisis in most mayor US cities than with Delta. Maybe they don’t want the rest of the world to see and report abut all the violence and homelessness that is escalating since the pandemic?

  3. Courtney Johnson

    My boyfriend and I live in Germany. I am American and he is German. We have been dating 8 years. He is not allowed to see my family in the US. We have a trip planned October 1, thinking it was going to be lifted by then. Especially after the G7 summit and Merkle promises. I have made several trips home, however my boyfriend has not been able to. My nieces are 2 years old and 2 months old – yet he cant meet them.

    We are not the only ones in this situation. Biden needs to get his head out of his nursing care facility in Delaware and start acting like a President.

  4. Julio

    I am starting to think about something that has nothing to do with the virus. Any Schengen visitor can enter the USA if they stay 15 days in a non Schengen country such as Mexico, with a much lower vaccination rate than Europe, and this does not really make any sense at all. Airline companies are suffering the ban, spetially the europeans. Only customers from one side of the Atlantic can fly, not the others. And, obviously the E.U. Got tired of waiting and changed the rules. Spain now only accepts americans vaccinated, and that is how it shoud be in both directions. One of the utilities of vaccines is, apart from saving lives, facilitating people movement, and that means generating business, jobs, money. Favourite sports for politicians is to forget promises, not only in the US.

  6. SK

    I am a US citizen and totally astounded by the no plan or no date approach of Biden Administration for lifting the travel ban. My mother suffered a lot during the lockdowns in one of the Schenegen Countries. Was thankful that EU opened to US travelers and I could take her to hospital. Now she is doing better but still very fragile and I need to go back to work and can’t stay in Europe. Would be nice to have her with me in US for a bit to get her fully back on track. Good for her mood too but I guess emotions are not a priority with this Admin. Sports team can travel to US but not normal people to be with loved ones. What a shame and discrimination

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