Texas Governor Greg Abbott has ordered increased commercial vehicle inspections in an effort to combat illegal immigration.
During a Wednesday press conference, Abbott announced “the first in a series of aggressive actions by the State of Texas to secure the border in the wake of President Biden’s decision to end Title 42 expulsions.”
Abbott has directed the Texas Department of Public Safety (TXDPS) to immediately begin to conduct “enhanced safety inspections of vehicles as they cross points of entry into Texas.”
These state-conducted inspections would be performed in addition to inspections already performed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
“A zero tolerance policy for unsafe vehicles for smuggling migrants across the border is being implemented immediately. Cartels use vehicles — many of them dangerous commercial trucks — to smuggle immigrants, deadly fentanyl, and other illegal cargo into Texas and onto roadways,” Abbot said.
Abbott admitted that the increased commercial vehicle inspections will stymie traffic. “Now I know in advance this is going to dramatically slow traffic from Mexico into Texas,” Abbott said during the news conference.
Steve McCraw with the TXDPS confirmed that enhanced inspections began multiple locations in Texas at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
“Commercial vehicles, trucking industry, is vital to our economy. It’s vital to our way of life. The Majority of operators and owners comply with regulations. That’s vitally important because of their impact on Texas roadways and impact on Texas lives. The cartels could care less about that. They don’t care about lives, they don’t care about how many people they poison, they don’t care about how many people they kill. They care not. And they’re not afraid of violating — and they have and will continue to do so — motor vehicle carrier laws, commercial vehicle enforcement laws,” McCraw said.
The Biden Administration announced plans to revoke Trump-era Title 42 rules on May 23, 2022. The public health provision allows U.S. officials to expel asylum-seekers in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Abbott said that after Title 42 is revoked, an estimated 18,000 undocumented migrants per day will attempt to cross the border into the U.S.