Elias Valverde II
Yes – that’s Sid Miller in the photograph
Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller pressed the governor on Tuesday to end a new inspection policy that is snarling traffic at the border and “turning a crisis into a catastrophe.”
In a strongly worded statement, Miller warned Gov. Greg Abbott that commercial vehicles are being forced to wait up to 12 hours to enter Texas from Mexico because of the stepped-up state inspections. As a result, Miller said, produce is rotting in idling trucks and ultimately, prices could spike for consumers.
“This is not solving the border problem, it is increasing the cost of food and adding to supply chain shortages,” said Miller, a two-term Republican who is up for reelection this year. “Such a misguided program is going to quickly lead to $2.00 lemons, $5.00 avocados and worse.”
This may surprise you; but, there is a possibility Texas voters just might lay blame for this mess at the feet of the neo-fascist bigot sitting in the governor’s office.
Eideard 
A weeklong protest by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against President Biden’s recent immigration policy reached a resolution on Friday, but the gridlock it created has resulted in hundreds of millions of lost dollars and delays in shipments of everything from avocados to automobile parts that will have a longer-term impact. https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/16/economy/texas-mexico-abbott-border-economic-impact/index.html
It could ultimately take several weeks for supply chains to recover from the weeklong slowdown at the border, said Matthew Hockenberry, a Fordham University assistant professor who studies supply chains and logistics.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) also drew national attention this week by sending two buses full of Latin American asylum applicants from the southern border to Washington, D.C. https://thehill.com/news/campaign/3269822-abbott-sparks-fresh-white-house-speculation-with-border-moves/
Fourteen Nicaraguan, Cuban, Venezuelan and Colombian nationals were dropped off on Thursday outside of the building that houses the Washington bureau of Fox News, which broke the story. On Wednesday, Fox News showed footage of the first bus full of migrants arriving in Washington, near the U.S. Capitol.
The migrants are all legally in the U.S. and waiting for official determination of their asylum claims. They also all voluntarily got on the bus to Washington, which the White House has repeatedly reminded the public of when asked for its reaction to Abbott sending the buses.
“Gulf Cartel Members Burn Semi-Trucks on Reynosa-Pharr Border Bridge” (4/14/22) http://www.borderlandbeat.com/2022/04/gulf-cartel-members-burn-semi-trucks-on.html
“The war next door: Conflict in Mexico is displacing thousands” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/11/mexico-displaced-people/
“75% of Mexico’s soil is already considered too dry to cultivate crops.” (3/14/20) https://www.eluniversal.com.mx/english/mexicos-craddle-corn-threatened-climate-change
PHARR, Texas (March 29, 2022) — Spanish and English words are juxtaposed on many of the thousands of tractor-trailers that constantly rumble across the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, carrying about $150 million worth of goods daily between the U.S. and Mexico.
Since it opened in 1994, the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge has been one of the busiest commercial ports of entry on the U.S.-Mexico border. The city of Pharr, which operates the bridge, has reshaped itself over the decades from a small, dusty agricultural community into a booming border trade hub.
Trade at the South Texas border port totaled a record $42 billion in 2021 — a number that could skyrocket in the near future, as the city has been working on a project to build a second commercial bridge alongside the existing one.
“We are expanding because it’s a need, the demand is there,” Luis Bazán, director of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, told FreightWaves. “Even through the pandemic, crossings skyrocketed in Pharr. We’re at 26% trade growth year-over-year [from 2020 to 2021], combined imports and exports — that is a telltale sign that good things are coming, production is booming.” https://www.freightwaves.com/news/pharr-border-bridge-in-texas-doubling-in-size
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 19th
“Examining Nearly Two Decades of Taxpayer-Funded Border Operations
Since 2005, Texas Govs. Rick Perry and Greg Abbott have launched a multitude of widely publicized and costly border initiatives, which usually kicked off during their reelection campaigns or while they were considering bids for higher office.” (ProPublica) https://www.propublica.org/article/examining-nearly-two-decades-of-taxpayer-funded-border-operations
What did Greg Abbott’s border inspections turn up? Oil leaks, flat tires and zero drugs (Texas Tribune April 21, 2022) https://www.texastribune.org/2022/04/21/greg-abbott-texas-border-inspections/
“State troopers ordered by Gov. Greg Abbott to inspect every commercial truck coming from Mexico earlier this month — which clogged international trade with Mexico — found zero drugs, weapons or any other type of contraband, according to data released by the Department of Public Safety to The Texas Tribune.
Over eight days, starting April 8, troopers conducted more than 4,100 inspections of trucks. Troopers didn’t find any contraband but took 850 trucks off the road for various violations related to their equipment. Other truckers were given warnings, and at least 345 were cited for things such as underinflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection routinely inspects commercial cargo coming from Mexico for illegal drugs and people being smuggled as soon as truckers cross the international bridges. CBP called Texas’ inspections duplicative and “unnecessary.”
7AM MDT, tomorrow morning, 25th