Increased inspections at southern border to deal with smuggling and human trafficking are making vehicle waiting times skyrocket which is unnecessary, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, in response to the federal government ending Title 42 expulsions from the U.S., has instituted more stringent measures at the southern Texas border. One of his explicit goals is combatting human trafficking and smuggling through increased rigor and quantity of inspections of most northbound traffic, if not all. Truckers coming north from Mexico have seen wait times skyrocket and are blocking international trade of a major international artery in protest. The U.S. Customs and Border Protection issued a statement calling these inspections unnecessary.
“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. 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,” according to CBP.
In response to the federal government ending Title 42 expulsions from the U.S., Abbott has opted for strict measures at the Southern border of Texas. One of Abbott's goals is to cope with smuggling and human trafficking with the help of enhanced rigor of inspections of the majority of northbound traffic. Trucks that are entering from Mexico have complained of increased waiting times. They are suspending international trade to protest against this strict inspection.
The Houston Chronicle reported that truckers in Mexico plan to continue these blockages until the wait times at the border decrease. Companies were citing issues with fuel consumption, cost increases and concern over spoiling produce due to the higher wait times.
The Lone Star Standard previously reported that Abbot said the following when announcing these policies: “With the Biden administration ending Title 42 expulsions in May, Texas will be taking its own unprecedented actions this month to do what no state in America has ever done in the history of this country to better secure our state, as well as our nation."
Abbott also announced more aggressive vehicle inspections intended to slow human smuggling and trafficking, implementing what he described as a “zero-tolerance policy for unsafe vehicles used for smuggling,” adding that this would “dramatically slow traffic from Mexico into Texas,” according to Lone Star Standard.
“As the federal government continues to roll back commonsense policies that once kept our communities safe, our local law enforcement has stepped up to protect Texans from dangerous criminals, deadly drugs and illegal contraband flooding into the Lone Star State,” Abbott said in a press release. “Texas will always be a law-and-order state.”