Up until now, non-citizen drivers carrying essential goods were able to cross the borders from Mexico and Canada without having to show proof of vaccination. But demonstrating yet again that there is apparently no rhyme or reason to the endless parade of federal mandates, President Joe Biden will reverse that policy on January 22nd. Unvaccinated American citizens will still be able to cross the border into the country, though they face other restrictions upon arrival. The largest group expected to be impacted by the new mandate are truck drivers. Wait a minute… aren’t we still in the middle of a supply chain crisis? Well, I suppose Uncle Joe isn’t going to let a little thing like that slow him down. (Associated Press)

President Joe Biden will require essential, nonresident travelers crossing U.S. land borders, such as truck drivers, government and emergency response officials, to be fully vaccinated beginning on Jan. 22, the administration planned to announce.

A senior administration official said the requirement, which the White House previewed in October, brings the rules for essential travelers in line with those that took effect earlier this month for leisure travelers, when the U.S. reopened its borders to fully vaccinated individuals.

Essential travelers entering by ferry will also be required to be fully vaccinated by the same date, the official said. The official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to preview the announcement.

The trucking industry was quick to respond. One industry group described the decision as an example of “how unnecessary government mandates can force experienced owner-operators and independent truckers out of business.”

You’ll note that non-essential traffic has already been restricted by vaccination status for a while now. When the White House originally decided to exempt essential drivers they explicitly said that the decision was based on a need to “prevent disruptions, particularly among truck drivers who are vital to North American trade.” So what’s changed between then and now? The answer is pretty much nothing, something that Empty Shelves Joe should be well aware of. But even as people are worrying about whether or not they’ll be able to find a turkey or a ham to put on the table during the upcoming holidays, we’re getting ready to give more truckers a reason to get off the roads?

Then there’s the other glaring issue with this sort of mandate. Legal, honestly employed drivers may be turned away if they don’t have an immunity passport, but as Katie Pavlich pointed out yesterday, there’s another very large group of individuals who face no such impediment.

Nearly 2 million illegal immigrants who crossed into the U.S. this year have no such requirement. Insanity. https://t.co/6KkTSZ1zSz

— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) November 23, 2021

Homeland Security is already admitting that they didn’t have nearly enough COVID test kits to test all of the illegal aliens that have been released into the country’s interior. We no longer have a solid idea of how many people were unleashed in America in that fashion. But if you happen to be a driver bringing essential goods into the country, we’d like to see your papers, please.

These are the same people who are shutting down pipelines and draining our strategic oil reserves just when gas prices are going through the roof. They’re the ones who are still trying to reduce the capacity of police departments in the middle of a crime wave. They’re enacting “green energy” measures that don’t produce enough electricity while parts of the country are still seeing rolling blackouts.

It’s hard to tell at this point if we’re just witnessing gross incompetence or if there’s some sort of secret plan in place to deliberately debilitate the country. Flip a coin, I suppose. The end result is the same.