So That Criminals Don't Go Back And Forth Between The US And Mexico

Vehicles queue into the United States while waiting for inspection at a number of entrances to San Ysidro, Tijuana, Mexico, (ANTARA PHOTO/REUTERS/Jorge Duenes/wsj)

JAKARTA - The United States and Mexico made an agreement to increase prevention efforts against possible smuggling from Mexico.

According to the agreement, authorities in the Mexican state of Tamaulipas -- which lies on the border between Mexico and Texas, US -- are asked to step up security efforts against illegal immigration and drug smuggling.

The contents of the deal were disclosed by Texas Governor Greg Abbott and Tamaulipas Governor Francisco Garcia Cabeza de Vaca during a news conference in Weslaco, Texas, near the US-Mexico border.

Texas, meanwhile, will suspend additional checks of trucks arriving from Mexico after reaching agreements with four Mexican states bordering the US, Abbott said Friday, April 15.

The deal is expected to cut back on expensive and lengthy support checks over the past week.

Last week, Abbott, the Republican running for re-election in November, ordered state authorities to carry out "additional safety checks" on vehicles crossing from Mexico to Texas to uncover people smuggling and contraband.

The additional inspections, which Abbott said were necessary because of President Joe Biden's inability to secure the border, stalled truck traffic and sparked protests by Mexican truck drivers in their country.

Mexico closed several commercial crossings in Texas and New Mexico.

Traffic jams cost millions of dollars and prompted pressure from business groups, including the Fresh Products Association of America.

The alliance consists of more than 100 companies involved in the import and distribution of Mexican products in the United States.

Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller, a fellow Republican, on Tuesday (12/4) urged Abbott to end additional truck inspections.

Miller thought the additional checks would "quickly bring the price of lemons to $2, avocados $5 and worse."

On Wednesday, the White House condemned the inspection, saying it was unnecessary and had disrupted food and auto supply chains, driving prices up.

Biden, the Democrat, is already battling rising inflation and challenges to the movement of goods due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Abbott has also chartered buses to take migrants from Texas to Washington, to send a message to Biden. A third bus arrived on Friday, according to the governor's office and several media reports.

Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat who challenged Abbott in the November 8 election and a former US congressman, criticized Abbott in tweets and videos for a week.

O'Rourke called the governor's actions a "political stunt" sowing chaos on the border.

Texas authorities have declined to say whether the additional checks found any smuggling.

As of Thursday, the state's Department of Public Safety had fined more than 1,400 vehicles that were not roadworthy for safety violations such as faulty brakes, tires and lights, the agency said.