The border in Texas is regaining some sense of normalcy now that trucks loaded with goods for the U.S. have started making their way north. But that sense of normalcy is going to cost the border economy more than $1 billion, and could end up costing the U.S. close to $9 billion in total, according to Axios.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott is done throwing his hissy fit and has finally called off the State Troopers he sent to the border on April 8. Abbott rescinded his own mandatory DPS inspections of all commercial vehicles entering at land crossings, which were being carried out in the name of vehicle safety. The numbers are starting to roll in for Abbott’s stunt, and it’s not great:
The connection between vehicle safety and cargo truck inspections was tentative at best because Texas State Troopers have little authority to police a federal border, and neither can they rummage through the laden trucks. So what was the point of losing billions?
Well, broken brake lights and other infractions, as Texas Public Radio cited:
“Whether it be because of brake issues, because of tire issues or other issues,” said Abbott at a press conference with Nuevo León Gov. Samuel Alejandro García Sepúlveda, a week after his initial announcement. “There may be Texans whose lives were saved because of the vehicles taken out of operation by what the Texas Department of Public Safety did.”
No drug busts, no migrant caravans. Just traffic fines for a convoy of spoiled goods and delayed shipments that will cost a ton of money. Just for starters, it’s $1 billion in the border town of Pharr, Texas alone. From TPU:
According to a release by the City of Pharr, the estimated trade value lost at the Pharr-Reynosa International bridge was $202 million per day, or $1 billion over the course of time that Gov. Greg Abbott’s border security measures increased inspection times from hours to days.
Beyond that, the entire state of Texas lost $477 million per day, according to the Dallas Morning News. Zooming out further, the U.S. lost $8.97 billion overall, according to analysts cited by Axios.
And yet, Abbott is still talking up how the Texas economy is just fine, chalking up the criticism to haters ‘gon hate. He still claims the inspections made the border “safe.” In fact, Abbott emphatically says he’s brokered agreements with Mexican officials, who will put new measures in place to secure “BOTH” sides of the border. But as, TPU reports, most of those measures were already in place.
Also, wait a minute. “Both” sides? Well, well, well. I didn’t know Mexico had a so-called crisis along its border with Texas. Are throngs of U.S. citizens here also jumping the border wall for cheap gas? Ah, never mind. They’re trying to siphon electricity, right? I live here, Abbott. I have a right to know!
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