{"id":16813,"date":"2022-05-15T03:04:35","date_gmt":"2022-05-15T03:04:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=16813"},"modified":"2022-05-15T03:04:35","modified_gmt":"2022-05-15T03:04:35","slug":"gov-greg-abbotts-border-inspections-caused-ripples-in-mcallen-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/egrowonline.com\/?p=16813","title":{"rendered":"Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s border inspections caused ripples in McAllen news"},"content":{"rendered":"
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MCALLEN \u2014 Eladio Cordero, a produce worker at Trinidad Fresh Produce in the McAllen Produce Terminal Market, sorted through jalape\u00f1os Thursday \u2014 about one in three had orange spots. A few feet away from him, dozens of flies buzzed around a pile of browning onions.<\/p>\n
Every day at the terminal, where hundreds of trucks pass through to drop off tons of Mexican-grown goods, the fruits and vegetables that have gone bad are picked out and thrown away.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe merchandise comes from Mexico and by the time it crosses it can go bad, and those are losses,\u201d said Gustavo Garcia, a floor manager for Trinidad Fresh Produce, a distributor at the terminal.<\/p>\n
After Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state inspections on commercial vehicles entering from Mexico last week, the stack of garbage-bound onions grew taller. The jalape\u00f1os that didn\u2019t survive the long journey into the U.S. were discarded. Garcia said he doesn\u2019t know if retailers will still want to buy the aging produce he keeps, but if they do, the price will be marked down at least 30%.<\/p>\n
The state\u2019s inspections, which were conducted on every northbound commercial vehicle entering through Texas\u2019 biggest ports of entry, were in addition to those already performed by federal customs authorities. The governor effectively ended the policy Friday after reaching deals with his counterparts in the four Mexican states that share a border with Texas, but the disruption caused by the inspections will likely have lingering impacts.<\/p>\n
In McAllen, one of the Rio Grande Valley\u2019s busiest trade posts with Mexico, Abbott\u2019s directive caused ripples across the supply chain. Long lines at the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge left truckers waiting to cross for days, big-name grocers shifted their import routes to other ports of entry outside Texas, produce spoiled en route and warehouses sat empty. All the while, workers who depend on the commerce between the two countries lost hours and pay \u2014 and consumers will likely pay a price, too.<\/p>\n
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First: About one in three jalape\u00f1os had orange spots at Trinidad Fresh Produce at the McAllen Produce Terminal Market. Last: Onions were spoiling after commercial delivery trucks were delayed by the additional inspections that Gov. Greg Abbott ordered last week. <\/span><\/p>\n
Credit:<\/span><\/span> Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
On Friday, Abbott said he recognized that the increased inspections caused economic hardship on both sides of the border, but that securing the border is more important.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is the expectation that the Mexican states that I\u2019ve negotiated deals with will do what is necessary to reduce illegal immigration, and there\u2019s the consequence that if not, the 100% inspections will be reinstated and they may have knock-on economic effects,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cWe are going to do what is necessary to make sure that we have safe and secure borders.\u201d<\/p>\n
Long waits at the bridge<\/h2>\n
Trucks entering Texas already were subject to multiple inspections prior to Abbott\u2019s move last week. At federally controlled ports of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents use equipment such as portable X-ray machines to look for drugs and smuggled migrants. At larger commercial ports, federal agencies like the U.S. Department of Transportation and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration also conduct specialized inspections to ensure vehicles and products alike meet federal standards.<\/p>\n
Texas normally conducts mechanical inspections on trucks crossing into the U.S., but as part of Abbott\u2019s order, state troopers inspected every truck for migrants and illegal drugs. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which already conducts commercial inspections, called the added inspections \u201cunnecessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The measure was part of Abbott\u2019s response to the Biden administration\u2019s decision to end Title 42, an emergency health order meant to halt the spread of the coronavirus that allowed immigration authorities to turn away migrants at the border, even those seeking asylum. Abbott has made border security his top priority issue as he seeks reelection in November.<\/p>\n
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DPS troopers inspect trucks in front of the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in Pharr on Thursday. <\/span><\/p>\n
Credit:<\/span><\/span> Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Normally, about 3,000 commercial trucks cross the Pharr bridge each day, bringing about $60 million to $70 million worth of goods into the U.S. from Mexico. But Abbott\u2019s policy slowed transit to a crawl this week, turning a journey that typically takes a couple of hours into days for some. Mexican truckers protested the measure with a blockade, shuttering all commercial traffic for three days.<\/p>\n
The blockade ended Wednesday, but on Thursday, hundreds of trucks were still stuck at the bridge.<\/p>\n
Felix, a 60-year-old Mexican trucker who was transporting tomatoes, onions and avocados, waited about 13 hours in line at the bridge. He asked to be identified only by his first name for fear of retribution and targeted inspections from CBP officials.<\/p>\n
Hearing of the delays at the border, he packed water and food for a few days. But other truckers didn\u2019t come as prepared and were sitting in standstill traffic without anything to eat or drink. Felix said he was told by a CBP official that the agency would put portable bathrooms along the bridge for the gridlocked truckers, but he never saw them.<\/p>\n
Once Felix made it to the state troopers\u2019 inspection point around 9 p.m., he said they didn\u2019t even peer into his truck, which had been sealed since Mexican authorities inspected it about 600 miles away in the state of Sinaloa.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no possibility of bringing illegal immigrants in the merchandise or in the cabin,\u201d he said, referencing one of Abbott\u2019s explanations for the inspections. \u201cI can\u2019t bring an illegal immigrant here for money because I know [inspectors] are going to discover them. It\u2019s not a thing here. I don\u2019t know what the politicians\u2019 ideas are. I don\u2019t know what they\u2019re talking about.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Bret Erickson, vice president of business affairs at Little Bear Produce in Edinburg, stands Thursday in front of an unusually empty warehouse floor where large shipments of watermelon typically would be. <\/span><\/p>\n
Credit:<\/span><\/span> Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Another blow to the local economy<\/h2>\n
The delays caused by the state\u2019s inspections are the latest blow to farmers and produce businesses in the Rio Grande Valley since 2020. Last year\u2019s winter freeze damaged millions of pounds of product. The pandemic forced companies to size down their worblackchroniclece and implement virus mitigation strategies. And inflation is sending costs for business needs like fertilizer, diesel and packaging materials soaring.<\/p>\n
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\u201cThere\u2019s nothing you can do about Mother Nature; that\u2019s just part of the farming business. But when you\u2019ve got a politician go out and make a decision like Gov. Abbott did, it\u2019s like a slap in the face.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n
\u2014\u00a0Bret Erickson, Little Bear Produce vice president of business affairs<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
But Bret Erickson, former president and CEO of the Texas International Produce Association and a current executive with Little Bear Produce, a Texas produce grower and distributor, said this latest setback is different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s nothing you can do about Mother Nature; that\u2019s just part of the farming business,\u201d Erickson said. \u201cBut when you\u2019ve got a politician go out and make a decision like Gov. Abbott did, it\u2019s like a slap in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnytime that we are losing a day of business, there\u2019s always a lasting impact,\u201d he added. \u201cEvery day that goes by that we haven\u2019t been able to receive these loads, those are sales dollars that we will not get back. Those are dollars that are not going to be returned to our employees\u2019 paychecks, because they didn\u2019t work.\u201d<\/p>\n
Most of the produce that crosses into the U.S. from Mexico comes through the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge. It\u2019s also where many car parts, electronics, types of medical equipment and other goods make their way across the border.<\/p>\n
Little Bear Produce usually receives about a dozen truckloads of produce a day. In the week that followed Abbott\u2019s announcement, they received four in total. Erickson said the company has lost hundreds of thousands of dollars since last week, and workers who make their living packaging and sorting the products have seen their hours cut amid a lack of goods.<\/p>\n
Restaurants, truck stops and bodegas that cater to truckers who move goods over the border have also been affected by the delays.<\/p>\n
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Lucio Mouret stands in front of his bodega at the McAllen Produce Terminal Market in McAllen on Thursday. He said fewer truckers able to cross the border this week has meant a drop in business for him. <\/span><\/p>\n
Credit:<\/span><\/span> Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
On Thursday, McAllen\u2019s usually bustling produce terminal was quiet with fewer trucks arriving. Lucio Mouret, 63, makes his living operating a bodega at the terminal, selling sodas, pastries and chips. But the drop in truckers has meant a drop in business.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt affects us because we struggle to pay rent,\u201d said Mouret, who pays $1,800 a month for the bodega at the terminal. His sales are down about 30% this week, he said, and it\u2019s now going to be more difficult to afford car payments, personal rent and insurance.<\/p>\n
Campos Bros Produce, another tenant at the terminal, was waiting on two truckloads of key limes that had been stuck at the international bridge for two days. Workers who sort the fruit have had their hours slashed because of the lack of product. The company pays about $50,000 per truckload of limes, and workers said they hoped the fragile produce arrives in good condition.<\/p>\n
In the meantime, they relied on Mexican truckers like Felix to check the temperatures of their refrigerated cargo and continuously replenish diesel in standstill traffic.<\/p>\n
Campos Bros will have to pay thousands of dollars in fees to supermarkets if they don\u2019t make their delivery deadline.<\/p>\n
While truckers waited at the bridge, Erickson\u2019s loading dock, normally fully stocked with Mexican-grown watermelons this time of year, sat almost empty.<\/p>\n
Erickson said Little Bear\u2019s business partners \u2014 grocers like H-E-B, Walmart and Kroger \u2014 are either facing delays or redirecting their shipments through other ports of entry outside of Texas, like Nogales, Arizona, to fill shelves.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Texas fruit and vegetable industry is struggling to get back, and then a decision like this gets made by a politician who is trying to score political points,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s at the expense of businesses like ours and our employees and consumers\u2019 pocketbooks.\u201d<\/p>\n
The inspections also affected southbound exports. Auguste Browne, a 65-year old Canadian trucker, was transporting a truckload of frozen beef from Calgary to Pharr so he could hand off the goods to a Mexican trucker who would then distribute them to Mexican consumers.<\/p>\n
Browne was meant to deliver the meat on Monday, but on Thursday morning, he was still in Pharr waiting for his Mexican partner to arrive.<\/p>\n
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Employees at the McAllen Produce Terminal Market in McAllen on Thursday. <\/span><\/p>\n
Credit:<\/span><\/span> Jason Garza for The Texas Tribune <\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Posted up at a gas station steps away from the border, Browne said delays and holdups are common in the business, but the cause of this one wasn\u2019t normal.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a long-haul trucker, you get used to that sort of thing. But this was unique,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019ve never had this happen before, and it caught us off guard.\u201d<\/p>\n
For now, Browne said, his cargo is safe.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s been frozen at minus 10 Fahrenheit this whole time,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd luckily I had access to a fuel pump, and I\u2019ve been stranded here, so there\u2019s food. I\u2019ve actually been one of the fortunate ones.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sneha Dey and Ver\u00f3nica G. C\u00e1rdenas contributed to this report.<\/em><\/p>\n
Disclosure: H-E-B has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune\u2019s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.<\/i><\/p>\n