An order issued April 6 by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in the wake of the Biden Administration’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions — which allowed U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents to prohibit immigrants at the Mexican border from entering the U.S., even those seeking asylum, if they potentially pose a COVID-19 health risk — is causing significant disruptions to freight movement at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Abbott’s order directed the Texas Department of Public Safety to “conduct enhanced safety inspections of vehicles as they cross international ports of entry into Texas.” Abbott said the order was intended to “curtail the flow of drugs, human traffickers, illegal immigrants, weapons and other contraband into Texas.”
According to a press release from CBP, wait times at certain border crossings are exceeding five hours and commercial traffic is dropping by as much as 60%. CBP added that since April 8, border crossing wait times at the Hidalgo/Pharr crossing increased from an average of 63 minutes to a peak of more than five hours, with commercial traffic dropping 35%. Additionally, since Monday, the Pharr International Bridge has been blocked by truck drivers in Mexico, purportedly protesting Abbott’s order, bringing commercial traffic there to a complete stop.
The Laredo-Colombia Solidarity Bridge, which averages a 26-minute wait time, CBP said, has reached a peak wait of five hours with a 60%-plus drop in commercial traffic. The Ysleta crossing at El Paso, which averages a 52-minute wait time, reached a peak wait of five and a half hours, and the Bridge of the Americas in the same region reached a peak wait of 5 hours, with a 30% drop in commercial traffic.
[Related: Cabotage rules enforcement in border areas]
CBP punted on claiming any responsibility for the delays, pointing the finger at Abbott's order and Texas DPS' increased inspections, which CBP called "additional and unnecessary."
CBP added that those unnecessary inspections by Texas DPS happen when vehicles exit the U.S. ports of entry “after being comprehensively inspected and cleared to enter the United States by CBP.”
