A political stunt that left truckers fuming, cargo stranded and food rotting has finally been ended. Texas governor Greg Abbott instituted secondary inspections of trucks crossing the Texas-Mexico border, supposedly looking for illegal immigrants and drugs. Instead, he became the villain when critics began blaming him for millions in losses.
The announcement came after Abbott said he had reached agreements with a number of Mexican officials to improve border security.
The new Texas-led inspections went into place in the last week, but they were decried by White House officials, who said the trucks were already inspected by federal officials and that inspecting the same trucks again by state officials created huge traffic jams. The traffic jams were expected to soon lead to food shortages and price spikes, among other things.
The Washington Post
The Post adds the governor was under tremendous pressure to lift the requirement because of major delays. Even though the secondary inspections have ended, it is unclear how long it will take the backlog to clear.
In a Washington Post opinion piece, writer Catherine Rampell notes:
Abbott must have known his stunt had risks. The quantity of cross-border trade — in food, auto parts, retail goods — is enormous, and of enormous consequence to the Lone Star State’s economy. Roughly $9 billion worth of fresh produce alone — 1.28 billion pounds — crosses into Texas from Mexico annually, according to the Texas International Produce Association. But this is political theater, after all, and the show must go on.
Washington Post
The stunt quickly became fodder for the governor’s opponent, Beto O’Rourke.
So what did Abbott accomplish with his Mexican counterparts? Not much.
Abbott said the deals with Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo León and Tamaulipas were “historic,” calling them an example of how border states can work together on immigration. But three of the four Mexican governors said they will simply continue security measures they put in place before Abbott ordered the state inspections.
The fourth, Nuevo León Gov. Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda — whose state shares only 9 miles of the 1,200-mile Texas-Mexico border — agreed to set up new checkpoints for commercial trucks.
Abbott said he was relying on the Mexican governors to reduce the number of migrants crossing the Rio Grande.
The Texas Tribune
