Abbott ends stepped-up inspections of trucks at border that snarled trade

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott (Texas) announced Friday that he would be ending the increased inspections of trucks at the border that raised alarms due to the traffic jams and the slowdown in trade the measure caused. 

Abbott said last week that every commercial truck would have to be inspected as a means to combat cartels and drugs at the border. The move was also in response to the Biden administration saying it would end Title 42, which allowed Border Patrol to deny asylum claims and easily deport migrants. 

However, the Abbott’s directive drew backlash, even from some Republicans, as long traffic jams came as a result and threatened hundreds of millions of dollars in fruits and vegetables that were being transported from Mexico to the U.S.

Abbott said in a press conference and statement Friday that he has come to an agreement with several governors in Mexico and is ready to lift the extra inspections. 

Abbott said Tamaulipas Governor Francisco García Cabeza de Vaca agreed to increase security along the border and guard low water crossings that migrants use to illegally enter the U.S.

“The Texas Department of Public Safety can return to random searches of vehicles crossing all of the bridges from Tamaulipas,” Abbott said. 

Abbott said the new decree starts “immediately” and will continue as long as de Vaca upholds his end of the agreement. 

“I understand the concern that businesses have about trying to move products across the bridge, but I also know the anger that Texans have that is caused by Joe Biden not securing the border,” Abbott said. 

The move comes at a time when Abbott is sending busloads of migrants to Washington, D.C., a move he says is meant to make the Biden administration see the effects of illegal immigration.

The White House has condemned Abbott’s recent actions at the border and the buses of migrants, saying it has been a “publicity stunt” and is costing the U.S.

“Governor Abbott’s unnecessary and redundant inspections of trucks transiting ports of entry between Texas and Mexico are causing significant disruptions to the food and automobile supply chains, delaying manufacturing, impacting jobs, and raising prices for families in Texas and across the country,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.