According to The Texas Tribune, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to ramp up inspections of commercial trucks at the border turned up zero drugs, weapons, or illegal immigrants.
The Republican governor instructed state troopers to inspect every commercial truck arriving in the US from border states in an attempt to stamp out illegal immigration.
According to data obtained by The Tribune, troopers conducted more than 4,100 inspections of trucks over an 8-day period beginning on April 8. 850 trucks were taken off the road for various equipment violations, including underinflated tires, oil leaks, and faulty turn signals, the outlet reported.
There were a lot of 18-wheelers on both sides of the border. For a process that typically takes only a couple of hours, the wait times were as long as 30 hours. The delays resulted in shipping delays and spoiled produce.
Delays cost the US $9 billion in gross domestic product and cost the state of Texas $4.2 billion in GDP, according to an estimate from The Perryman Group.
Mexican truck drivers blocked traffic at one of the busiest entry points into Texas earlier this month in protest of the inspections. The policy was slammed by the White House press secretary.
The director of the Texas Department of Public Safety attributed the lack of recovered items to the policy of the Abbott administration. An immigration expert told the outlet that the policy probably didn't play a role in the increase in smuggled goods, as such items would likely have been found by federal immigration officials before the trucks were inspected a second time.
The policy would end after Abbott signed agreements with several Mexican governors who promised to increase security.
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