Referring to the enhanced inspections of commercial trucks at the Texas-Mexico border as “unnecessary and redundant, White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday issued a statement on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s new security policy, which is causing massive backups and has prompted a truck blockade at a major trade port.
Since Monday, Mexican truckers have blocked the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge — one of the busiest trade ports on the U.S.-Mexico border — in protest after Abbott last week directed state troopers to stop and inspect trucks coming into Texas. Unusually long backups — some lasting 12 hours or longer — have stacked up elsewhere along Texas’ roughly 1,200-mile border.
“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,” Psaki wrote.
Abbott put the policy in place in response to the Biden administration decision to roll back Title 42, a Trump-era public health law – now set to expire in May – that has limited asylum-seekers in the name of preventing the spread of COVID-19. Critics have suggested that rolling back the rule could draw more migrants to the southern border.
“Local businesses and trade associations are calling on Governor Abbott to reverse this decision because trucks are facing lengthy delays exceeding 5 hours at some border crossings and commercial traffic has dropped by as much as 60%,” Psaki continued, referencing a report from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol released one day prior.
“Local trade associations, officials, and businesses are requesting the Texas state government discontinue their additional border truck inspection process because it is not necessary to protect the safety and security of Texas communities and is resulting in significant impacts to local supply chains that will impact consumers and businesses nationally,” the fact sheet from CBP reads.
CBP presented figures from the Laredo Field Office and El Paso Field Office, which the agency said accounts for “more than $280B in cross-border commerce” every year.
The Hildalgo/Pharr border crossing, which typically averages a 63 minute wait time, saw a peak wait time of 320 minutes and a drop of 35% in commercial traffic. Similarly, the Colombia Solidarity Bridge, which typically sees a 26 minute wait, saw a 300 minute wait time at its peak and a 60% drop in commercial traffic.
The El Paso Field Office saw peak waits of 335 minutes and a 50% drop in commercial traffic at the Yselta border crossing (typically 52 minute wait) and 300 minutes and a 30% drop in commercial traffic at Bridge of Americas (which sees typically a 42 minute wait time).
“These unnecessary inspections are occurring when vehicles exit U.S. ports of entry within the El Paso and Laredo areas of operation after being comprehensively inspected and cleared to enter the United States by CBP,” the report continues. “As a result, vehicles have been significantly delayed in exiting the federal inspection plaza, leading to traffic disruptions and critical impacts to an already-strained supply chain.”
Frustration is also spreading within members of Abbott’s own party: Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican, called the inspections a “catastrophic policy” that is forcing some trucks to reroute hundreds of miles to Arizona.
“I do describe it as a crisis, because this is not the normal way of doing business,” said Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez, whose county includes the bridge in Pharr. “You’re talking about billions of dollars. When you stop that process, I mean, there are many, many, many, many people that are affected.”
The shutdowns and slowdowns have set off some of widest backlash to date of Abbott’s multibillion-dollar border operation, which the two-term governor has made the cornerstone of his administration. Texas already has thousands of state troopers and National Guard members on the border and has converted prisons into jails for migrants arrested on state trespassing charges.
Abbott warned last week that inspections would “dramatically slow” border traffic, but he hasn’t addressed the backups or port shutdowns since then.
“The continuous flow of legitimate trade and travel and CBP’s ability to do its job should not be obstructed. Governor Abbott’s actions are impacting people’s jobs, and the livelihoods of hardworking American families,” Psaki wrote.
