Biden Administration Calls Texas Border Inspections ‘Unnecessary’ as Abbott Pressures Border Crossings

Trucks wait in a long queue to cross into the United States, after the U.S Department of Public Safety (DPS) announced increased security checks at the international ports of entry into Texas, at the Zaragoza-Ysleta border crossing bridge in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico on April 9, 2022. (REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez)

DEL RIO, Texas—The Biden administration has weighed in on Texas’s latest efforts to bring attention to the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.

The Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) started conducting “enhanced commercial vehicle safety inspections” on vehicles traveling from Mexico on April 8, at the behest of Gov. Greg Abbott.

The inspections are being conducted on state roads just beyond several ports of entry, which has caused long delays to commercial traffic and caused miles-long lines of trucks into Mexico.

Customs and Border Protection, which is responsible for border clearance into the United States, called the inspections “unnecessary” in a statement issued on April 12.

“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,” CBP stated.

The Hildalgo/Pharr port of entry has seen a 35 percent drop in commercial traffic, while a bridge in Laredo has seen a 60 percent drop, according to CBP.

Texas DPS officers have conducted inspections since April 6 at seven ports of entry—Brownsville, Los Indios, Pharr, Laredo, Eagle Pass, Del Rio, and El Paso. Texas has 28 land ports of entry with Mexico.

As of April 10, DPS had inspected 3,443 commercial vehicles, of which 807 were placed out of service for “serious safety violations to include defective brakes, defective tires, and defective lighting,” according to Lt. Christopher Olivarez, DPS spokesman for south Texas.

“Additionally, 79 commercial vehicle drivers were placed out of service. The total number of violations detected thus far is 11,566.”

The president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association John Esparza said his phone has been ringing off the hook since April 7.

“Without a doubt it is a major concern for all of us currently,” Esparza told The Epoch Times. “Regardless of what causes the slowdowns, when we see slowdowns at the border, it has a down-the-food-chain effect … all the way to the grocery store.”

John Esparza, president and CEO of the Texas Trucking Association. (Photo courtesy of TXTA)

The Texas Trucking Association has 1,000 member companies ranging from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, according to its website.

Esparza said he’s been in touch with the governor’s office since the inspections started and is seeking further clarification on the ultimate goal.

“We don’t disagree with what the governor is doing. What we’re trying to do is help him reach the goals with our partners over at the Department of Public Safety without impeding commerce. And that can be a challenge,” Esparza said.

“I think the industry is rightfully concerned about what this is going to mean in the days and weeks, and potentially months to come. We just don’t know yet.”

Dante Galeazzi, the CEO and president of the Texas International Produce Association, was quick to send a letter to Abbott.

“We implore you to modify the deployment of this enforcement action,” Galeazzi wrote on April 8. “Last night, commercial trucks crossing the Pharr International Bridges were in a miles-long line that took until nearly 2 a.m. this morning to clear the bridge. Today, the line is at a stand-still as trucks are crawling out of the import lot.”

Galeazzi said $9 billion and more than 1.28 billion pounds of fresh produce crosses from Mexico into Texas annually.

“This is destroying our business and the reputation of Texas. I foresee companies making plans to move their business to New Mexico and Arizona,” he said.

DPS hasn’t said how long it intends to continue with the inspections. Mexico is Texas’s top trading partner, with $88.5 billion worth of goods flowing both ways across the Texas–Mexico border annually, according to Global Edge.

Abbott’s office didn’t respond by press time to a request for comment and also a query as to whether the Biden administration has reached out to him.

The line of trucks waiting to get into the United States from Mexico at the Laredo bridge in Texas on April 12, 2022. (Screenshot of bridge cam)

On April 6, Abbott directed DPS to start conducting the inspections in a letter to the agency’s director, Col. Steven McCraw.

“As you have explained, the cartels that smuggle illicit contraband and people across our southern border do not care about the condition of the vehicles they send into Texas any more than they care who overdoses from the deadly fentanyl on board,” Abbott wrote.

“In response to this threat, which is projected to grow in the coming months, I hereby direct the ... DPS to conduct enhanced safety inspections of vehicles as they cross international ports of entry into Texas.”

Abbott made the announcement several days after the Biden administration said it intends to end the Title 42 pandemic-related expulsions at the border on May 23.

Border Patrol agents apprehend and transport illegal immigrants who have just crossed the river into La Joya, Texas, on Nov. 17, 2021. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times)

On April 11, Mexico’s undersecretary of Foreign Trade sent a letter to Abbott, “to find joint solutions to keep trade flows uninterrupted,” according to a Twitter post by Undersecretary Luz María de la Mora.

Esparza said he hopes the border slowdown issue doesn’t get to where trade routes move from Texas to New Mexico or Arizona.

“Is that blowing things out of proportion? Maybe not at this point,” he said of a possible shift west. “How long [inspections] will last can change behavior that’s not necessarily positive for Texas and the movement of freight in Texas.”

The Texas Association of Business didn’t respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also didn’t respond to a request for comment.

In the past six months, 1 million illegal immigrants from 157 countries have been apprehended at the southern border, according to Border Patrol Chief Raul Ortiz.

NOTE: This article and headline have been edited to add information from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.