The restriction of non-essential travel at the U.S.-Mexico border will remain in place for another month, according to a Monday morning tweet from Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.

Laredo officials on Friday said they expected bridges would open to Mexican tourists again this week after seven months of the government barring their travel through land ports such as Laredo’s.

The Laredo Health Department had already begun working with officials at the bridges to create health guidelines intended to curb the spread of COVID-19, such as the implementation of sanitation arches and rerouting traffic.

Earlier this month, Laredo’s U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar expressed confidence that the travel restrictions would be lifted “unless lightning strikes from the White House.”

In a letter to Wolf, Cuellar suggested reopening bridges to non-essential travel on a localized basis, city by city. Many border cities, like Laredo, have been petitioning the government to allow free travel between the U.S. and Mexico again. While others such as El Paso, which is experiencing a severe uptick in coronavirus cases and deaths, are recommending the travel restrictions continue.

DHS had already instructed Customs and Border Protection offices along the border to begin engaging the elected officials in their communities about this reopening, Cuellar reported two weeks ago. Because the instructions had come down to the sector offices, Cuellar assumed Wolf had given his approval.

But Cuellar on Monday pointed to a sign of hope in Wolf’s tweet, which for the first time mentions supporting border communities in this decision. “We are working closely with Mexico & Canada to identify safe criteria to ease the restrictions in the future & support out border communities,” reads part of the tweet.

Cuellar said this message is very different from what Wolf has said in the past, and believes that the U.S. is still working to open up before the end of the year.

“Even though I’m disappointed that they didn’t do it now, I’m extremely, extremely happy that for the first time they’re talking about No. 1, a strategy, and No. 2, that they’re working with the local community to get that safe criteria,” Cuellar said. “... I’m very hopeful that this is going to happen soon, so we can make sure we find the balance between the safety of the community and the health of the local economy.”

Mexico’s Foreign Ministry tweeted last week that they recommend the restrictions continue until Nov. 21 as well.

On March 21, DHS restricted border travel via land ports of entry, allowing only people crossing for work, school or medical reasons to travel from Mexico into the U.S. This rule has been extended every month since.

Laredo officials such as Mayor Pete Saenz and much of the local private sector have been petitioning the federal government for months to allow the “non-essential” Mexican traveler to cross into the U.S. again.

Nearly half of Laredo’s retail activity is usually attributed to tourists from Nuevo Laredo, Monterrey and other parts of Mexico. Many local businesses, especially in downtown, have suffered greatly in being cut off from their clientele.

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