Border traffic snarled by Texas gov's 'stunt': White House
STORY: Hundreds of commercial trucks waited in an hours-long line this week to cross the U.S. border from the Mexican city of Ciudad Juarez into El Paso.
And the snarled traffic here is being blamed on one man: Texas Governor Gregg Abbott.
The Republican last week ordered his state troopers to step-up what he called "enhanced safety inspections" of vehicles as they cross from Mexico into Texas in order to uncover smuggling of people and contraband.
The move has disrupted trade at some of the busiest commercial land-crossings on the globe.
Truck driver Manuel Monnreal told Reuters Wednesday he didn't expect to cross before dark.
"Waiting times are being imposed by the trooper, by the Texas state police. We arrived early today, and nothing has moved. I don't think will be crossing today."
And the impact has triggered a showdown between Texas and Washington.
Abbott has accused Democratic President Joe Biden of failing to secure the border.
The Biden Administration says that the Republican governor, who is seeking a third term in office, is pulling a political stunt that is hurting American consumers.
Here's White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Wednesday:
"I think we're trying to state the facts of what his...another political stunt that we're seeing happen and the impact of it. And what we're seeing is right now, factually, there's over one million dollars in trade crossing over the US-Mexico border every minute. These actions are impacting people's jobs and the livelihoods of hardworking families in Texas and across the country. That's not a political statement. That's a statement of fact."
Meanwhile, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement the long waits were due to "additional and unnecessary inspections" ordered by Abbott and were causing "critical impacts to an already-strained supply chain."
The new measures have infuriated industry groups, which have warned of shortages of perishable products over the Easter holiday weekend.
