Texas Governor Greg Abbott said Wednesday that he will maintain his policy of truck inspections at most border crossings, despite mounting pressure he has faced to end the measure that has caused huge bottlenecks in border crossings. the sentry boxes, millionaire losses for local businesses and disruption of supply chains around the country.
Abbott announced that it would not revoke its new measure at all crossings until there are more security guarantees.
But he did withdraw inspections at the Colombia International Bridge
, after announcing that he had reached an agreement with the governor of the Mexican state of Nuevo León, Samuel García, to increase security.
[A bus with immigrants sent by Texas from the border arrives in Washington DC: “They are tired and hungry”]
Yet at all other crossings along Texas' 1,200-mile border with Mexico,
inspections continued to cause delays of more than 12 hours.
Truckers unhappy with the measure have blocked some of the border bridges in protest, further complicating traffic.
These include the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, which vehicles began crossing on Wednesday afternoon, after being closed since Monday due to protests.
This Wednesday in Reynosa around 3:00 pm central time, the fire of three cargo trucks that were still stranded on the line to cross the international bridge was reported.
The Nuevo León police are looking for those responsible.
Truckers block the entrance to the Santa Teresa border crossing in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, which borders New Mexico, on April 12, 2022. Omar Ornelas / AP
Abbott, who has argued that his policy is due to "security reasons," urged the other governors of the Mexican border states to follow the example of Nuevo León and reach an agreement with Texas.
But even some of Abbott's allies have called on him to end the painstaking inspections that are choking off trade and disrupting the daily lives of people on both sides of the border.
[U.S. immigration authorities are concerned about this new form of human trafficking]
The Texas Teamsters Association, which has endorsed Abbott for re-election, declared the current situation "cannot be sustained" after delays delayed deliveries and threatened to empty store shelves.
The governors of the Mexican states of Coahuila and Tamaulipas, which also border Texas, sent letters to Abbott saying the inspections were going too far and causing chaos and economic damage on both sides of the border.
Major Border Posts Between Mexico and Texas Blocked by Truckers Protesting Abbott Controls
April 12, 202200:33
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Wednesday that "unnecessary" and "redundant" inspections by Texas authorities are "impacting jobs and driving up prices in Texas."
Abbott said last week that he would begin conducting meticulous inspections of all vehicles crossing the border with Mexico, when he announced a series of measures to deal with an alleged wave of migrants that could reach Texas, after the Biden Administration announced the end of Title 42 that allowed them to be expelled without the right to request asylum.