Friends and families are still being separated with the extension of the US border closure.

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Mike Malott has not seen his grandchildren since 2019.

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Their hopes for a reunion were crushed once again this week with the US government’s decision to extend its border closure for at least one more month.

Malott lives in Harrow. His girlfriend, Kim Thompson, lives in Ferndale, where the couple spent most of their time before COVID-19.

“We have grandchildren here and he hasn’t been able to see them since Christmas 2019,” Thompson said Tuesday. “And we just had another one born in August that he hasn’t even been able to see. So of course you can’t see any of your friends who are American. Our whole life revolved around being here. It has been very annoying for us and I do not understand my government at all ”.

We have not been able to reunite with his family at all.

The US landing border has been closed to non-essential travelers since March 2020. On Monday, the Biden administration extended the closure until at least October 21, despite Canada’s decision to reopen its border. last month.

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Ottawa began allowing fully vaccinated Americans into the country for nonessential travel on August 9.

Gordon Orr, Windsor Essex Pelee Island Tourism Executive Director, said closing the US border has had a slight advantage. Canadians who cannot go to the United States are spending their money here.

“We’re not allowed to cross a land border, so people don’t cross over and spend their money at those casinos, at those restaurants, at those sporting events,” Orr said.

But with many people still separated from friends and loved ones, he added that it is “more than economics.”

“It’s about the friendship we enjoy,” Orr said. “It’s one of the benefits of being a border city and the fact that you can do all of that. So the day we get to where the conditions are removed and we can participate in a free flow of visits to both sides of the border will be a much better day. “

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Malott and Thompson, who began dating in April 2018, were separated for eight months after the borders were first closed. Thompson finally got an extended family exemption and they met in Harrow last November.

But Malott said much of their life together focused on Michigan.

“We have not been able to reunite with his family at all,” he said. “His parents are getting old, so you worry. You never know. Being apart is a challenge. And not being able to cross that border doesn’t make any sense to me. They tell me I can fly there. So I have to drive to Toronto, get on a crowded plane, and fly to Detroit. Or I could drive to the border, interact with someone, and get to Kim’s house 40 minutes later. “

Thompson was less diplomatic about his frustration.

“You have 75 percent vaccinated and your cases are lower than ours,” he said. “I’m tired of the United States penalizing us for Americans who are idiots who don’t want to get vaccinated. It’s ridiculous.”

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