Coquitlam grandpa promises to be first in line when U.S. land border reopens next month

COQUITLAM (NEWS 1130) – An emotional reunion is likely just weeks away for a Coquitlam grandfather, who has missed nearly two years of milestones in his young grandson’s life.

After 19 months of uncertainty and separation, Mynor Campos is celebrating the news that the U.S. will soon reopen its land border and welcome back recreational travellers.

Campos lives just hours away from his daughter and grandson Camilo, who are in Seattle, but because of the extended border closure has not been able to visit them in the U.S.

Coquitlam man says he’s yearning to see his grandson and daughter in the United States, as he has only seen them once in nearly two years. (Submitted)

After Canada reopened the border to vaccinated Americans and removed the two week quarantine requirement in the summer, his daughter and grandson were able to come for a quick visit.

It was the first time he had seen them since December 2019.

Any moment missed is heartbreaking for the family, especially as nearly three-year-old Camilo is growing so fast.

“When he started crawling, and then when he started walking, we are glad that we have video conference now and every second and third day we are able to see him,” Campos said about the efforts to keep his family close during the pandemic.

Campos says there were so many barriers to travelling by air, such as the cost, and doesn’t understand why the land border remained shuttered for so long.

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“Canadians…were able to fly to the United States without a problem, why we cannot drive?” he said.

But, he isn’t looking back, instead getting ready for the day he can make the long-awaited drive south.

“I’ve been telling my coworkers, ‘you know the day that they reopen the border I will be there at midnight. I’ll be there.’ I don’t want to spend six hours at the border, but I don’t mind.”

U.S. border to reopen next month

More details are expected on when Campos, and many others, can make the trip.

The Department of Homeland Security released a statement Tuesday outlining immunization will be required for travellers from Canada and Mexico starting in November.

Vaccines approved by either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization will be accepted, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirmed this week.

There is no information on mix-and-match doses, which many Canadians have received, and the U.S. does not currently recognize.

U.S. Congressman Brian Higgins, who has been vocal in his calls to reopen travel, says the robust cross-border exchange between the U.S. and Canada is fundamental to the binational relationship.

“For months now we’ve heard from businesses that are suffering and families distraught over the separation imposed by the continued border shutdown,” Higgins said in a statement Tuesday night.

With files from Ria Renouf and Tarnjit Parmar