ABC News
By Libby Cathey
President Donald Trump announced Friday that he was closing the border with Mexico and barring asylum seekers to stop what he claimed was the danger of "viral spread" from undocumented immigrants as reported U.S. cases of the of the novel coronavirus surpassed 16,000.
"Our nation's top healthcare officials are concerned about the great public health consequences of mass, uncontrolled cross-border movement," Trump said, as he again appeared at the daily White House briefing on how the government is responding to the coronavirus crisis.
(AP: Mexico and the U.S. announced Friday that they would prohibit all “non-essential” travel across their shared border as part of efforts to control the spread of the coronavirus.
Both countries and Canada also agreed to immediately turn back anyone trying to cross their borders illegally, with U.S. officials saying that the unchecked entry of people from around the world poses a potential health risk because of the rapidly spreading virus.
The ban, which takes effect at 11:59 p.m. Friday, does not include commercial traffic and remains in place as long as needed, officials said.
By excluding commercial traffic from the ban, the two governments substantially softened the economic effects. Also, fewer Americans are heading south because of a statewide stay-at-home order in California and a State Department warning advising Americans not to travel abroad.
Still, the restrictions are a major development along the world's most heavily crossed border. Mexican shoppers are the lifeblood of smaller U.S. border towns, and it is common for people in both countries to cross frequently to visit family and friends.
(On Saturday, Cameron County Gateway bridge guards ordered a photographer not to take photos of the cars waiting to cross into Brownsville on instructions from USCBP officials. Some vehicles were observed being turned back to the Matamoros side.)
"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is exercising its authority under Title 42 of the U.S. Code to give Customs and Border Protection the tools it needs to prevent the virus coming through the northern and southern borders," the president said.
Calling it a "joint comprehensive effort," Trump said the measure will "reduce the incentive for a mass global migration that would deplete the health care resources needed for our people."
The restrictions will go into effect at midnight, said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
To read rest of story, click on link: