Mexican truckers protesting Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s controversial border crackdown ended their blockade of a key international bridge and are switching to other crossing sites.
Commercial traffic has resumed over the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said on Thursday. The crossing is where truckers upset about massive delays caused by Abbott’s measure began a blockade on Monday.
Abbott ordered state troopers to begin safety inspections on northbound Mexican commercial trucks last week in what he described as an effort to crack down on undocumented immigrants and smuggling. Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a Republican like Abbott, warned earlier this week that the dispute would trigger food shortages and push the price of avocados to $5 apiece.
“We have called on Governor Abbott to stop these unnecessary and duplicative inspections that are choking a key trade artery into our country,” White House deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Thursday.