Chaos grows at Texas-Mexico border after GOP governor forces new inspection policy on truckers

Joel Estebane’s commercial truck had already been inspected by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers after crossing the bridge that connects Ciudad Juárez and El Paso on Tuesday afternoon — then he had to wait another hour in another line where Texas state troopers were questioning commercial drivers. “This is affecting firms on both Mexico and the U.S. side.” Near the other end of Texas’ roughly 1,200-mile border with Mexico, in the Rio Grande Valley, no commercial vehicles crossed the busiest bridge in the region at all on Tuesday because for the second straight day, truckers on the Mexico side of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge blocked all north- and southbound lanes in protest of Gov. But six days into the new Texas initiative, it’s unclear how thoroughly the DPS is inspecting commercial vehicles — and whether state troopers are even opening up trucks’ cargo areas to look inside. The statement also said Mexican government officials have begun conversations with the U.S. government and Abbott’s office “to fully restore trade and identify alternatives that guarantee security on our shared border without harming binational trade.” “The Department of Foreign Affairs rejects this state measure that significantly harms the flow of trade between our two countries,” the statement said.