Biden requiring stricter COVID testing of legal travelers even as illegal immigrants have gotten a pass

The Biden administration is set to introduce stricter testing for both vaccinated and unvaccinated legal travelers entering the United States amid the rising threat of the Omicron variant even while illegal migrants have gone mostly untested.

President Biden‘s enhanced winter COVID-19 strategy that will be announced Thursday will require every traveler entering the country, including returning U.S. citizens, to be tested one day before boarding their flight, according to the CDC. The rule will also apply to vaccinated travelers, who previously were only required to show a negative test no more than three days before their flight.

But the Biden administration has refused to put similar requirements in place for those who illegally cross the border, claiming in September that such individuals do not intend “to stay here for a lengthy period of time.”

BIDEN’S VACCINATION MANDATE DOESN’T INCLUDE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS

“As individuals come across the border, and they are both assessed for whether they have any symptoms, if they have symptoms they are,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at the time.

“The intention is for them to be quarantined,” she added. “That is our process, they’re not intending to stay here for a lengthy period of time. I don’t think it’s the same thing. It’s not the same thing.”

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
(Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

As part of the enhanced strategy to fight the Omicron variant, the White House is considering a policy that would require travelers to take an additional test three to five days after they enter the country. More controversially, the administration is considering requiring all travelers to self-quarantine for seven days even if they receive a negative test. U.S. citizens would also be subject to this requirement, with fines and penalties for those who fail to…