In response to the impending end of Title 42 Gov. Abbott has sent state troopers to provide additional security checks on commercial vehicles crossing into the US at the southern border. The effect: protests and halts in trade.
Earlier this month President Biden announced the termination of Title 42, a Trump era policy used to expel migrants without permitting claims to asylum, leading the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its branches to prepare for a sharp increase in border crossings.
Read the National Immigration Forum’s explainer on Title 42
Abbott has taken the opportunity to create a state response separate from DHS by sending Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) state troopers to check all commercial vehicles heading north of the border. Not only is this a task already done by Customs and Border Patrol (CBP), but is done so with a much higher level of scrutiny that is afforded to them by their specialized tech and freedom in international zones. DPS, on the other hand, does not specialize in this type of work and is more restricted in what they can do by US law. It is not even clear if DPS is opening up the trucks they are stopping.
The initiative is another example of the Texas government challenging federal authority over immigration policy. What is different is that it does so now at risk of disrupting statewide supply chains. Gov. Abbott claims that the DPS checks provide more border security in addition to his initiative, Operation Lone Star, which is supposedly cracking down on trafficked humans and drugs. Despite this, DPS has not provided any evidence that the additional checks on commercial trucks have found any other than a few damaged brakes.
The extra stops have led to increases in travel time across international bridges adding hours to what is usually on average a 30 minute long process. One driver commented to the Mexican news station La Mañana that he waited three to four days and almost ran out of fuel while trying to cross. Such wait times cause massive delays in already struggling supply chains and often with goods whose quality is contingent on its arrival time like produce.
In response, frustrated truckers have begun protesting at the Pharr international bridge and in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico across from El Paso, leading to increased delays and halts to international trade along the Texas border. As reported by the Texas Tribune, the Pharr bridge alone, which is the busiest land crossing for produce entering the U.S. from Mexico, sees on average 3,000 commercial vehicles with $60 million to $70 million worth of daily goods. In the past six days commercial traffic has dropped 60% across the Texas-Mexico border. Local communities and businesses are bracing for large delays in shipment and the subsequent job loss expected to follow. Many warn of the impending effects this will have on statewide or even federal supply chains.
This comes at a time when the US is struggling with inflation rates not seen since the 80s, as grocery and gas prices continue to rise. As of March the annual inflation rate for the US is 8.5% which is mostly attributed to the pandemic. Food costs have been steadily rising all year due to strains in global supply chains, and are just now starting to feel the effects of the hike in gas prices due to sanctions on imported Russian gas.
The initiative is a political play at demonstrative “border security” that far exceeds the usual pomp. It is not only wasting money on policies that do little to address border issues, but has now also placed the Texas economy at risk.