In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott — who is running for reelection in the 2022 midterms — made it much more difficult for goods and produce to enter the United States from Mexico when he ordered "enhanced safety inspections" of commercial vehicles at the Texas/Mexico border. Former Rep. Beto O'Rourke, the Democratic gubernatorial nominee running against Abbott, has slammed the Republican governor's political stunt as bad for business. And journalists Alicia Wallace and Vanessa Yurkevich, reporting for CNN in an article published on April 16, describe some of the difficulties that Abbott has inflicted on the supply chain.
"A week-long protest by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott against President Biden's recent immigration policy reached a resolution on Friday, (April 15), 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," Wallace and Yurkevich explain. "On Friday, Abbott reversed course on an order he put in place last week that required lengthier 'enhanced safety inspections' of commercial vehicles entering Texas. The efforts, he said, were to help stop the flow of illegal contraband and human trafficking."
