An international bridge at the US-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas has come to a “halt” as Mexican truck drivers protest border inspections, business owners said Tuesday.
Joe Arevelo, owner of a freight and shipping company on the Texas border in Pharr, Texas, said the blockade on the Mexican side of the Pharr International Bridge and inspections have created a supply chain headache for businesses.
“It’s come to a halt. We are living through a nightmare,” Arevelo said at a press conference at his facility organized by Democrat Beto O’Rourke.
The protests come in response to Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordering secondary inspections of cargo trucks that had already been reviewed by US Customs and Border Protection.
Arevelo said the current conditions on the border have the potential to “devastate” an already delicate supply chain in the US and lead to an avocado and tomato shortage.
Standing in an empty refrigerated warehouse that would normally be filled with fruits, vegetables and other products from Mexico headed to US stores, Arevelo explained that his clients are forced to look for ways to get around the Texas border inspections, by going through ports of entry in other states.
He said the supply chain issues are costing him and many other Texas businesses millions of dollars.
“If I had to say anything to Greg Abbott, ‘Please stop. You’re destroying our businesses,” said Arevelo.
Polo Chow, another Texas trucking and shipping businessman there aren’t enough Texas troopers to inspect every truck waiting to come into Texas, creating a cue of up to 20 hours and leaving truck drivers without any food or restrooms.
“As of yesterday, zero trucks crossed (the border.) Typically, you have 3,000 trucks crossing per day here,” Chow said.
Those bottlenecks have also deterred American businesses who sell goods to Mexico, he said.
“Some of the product is pork and beef. The United States is a huge, huge exporter of pork and beef. All that is just sitting here in the warehouse. It’s not crossing into Mexico,” Chow said.
The governor’s office did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
Last week, Abbott announced beefed up security measures to deal with a surge of immigrants on the border. Abbott has argued that the extra inspections are needed since cargo trucks are often used to smuggle drugs and humans into the country.
Abbott’s political rival, O’Rourke, blasted the additional inspections.
“Because of a stunt that Greg Abbott has pulled, these DPS inspections cannot look inside of the cargo. They can only look at the tire pressure or the engine. It’s hurting our economy. It’s killing jobs,” the Democrat said.
