Texas Border Inspections To Be Scaled Back On Nuevo Leon Section

LAREDO, TX — Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced that increased inspections of commercial vehicles on the Texas-Mexico border will be scaled back to normal levels on the border with the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon during a news conference with Nuevo Leon Gov. Samuel Garcia on Tuesday in Laredo.

Garcia will increase security on the Nuevo Leon side of the border as part of the agreement signed by both governors, Abbott said at the news conference. The increased inspections will stay in place on every other part of the Texas-Mexico border.

The border between Texas and Nuevo Leon is a small section of less than 10 miles just west of Laredo. The entire length of the Texas-Mexico border is more than 1,200 miles long. The states of Chihuahua, Coahuila and Tamaulipas make up the rest of the border with Texas.

Abbott expressed hope similar agreements could be reached with governors of the other states along the Texas border.

The agreement comes as criticism has mounted in the wake of new border measures Abbott enacted last week. Backups of longer than 12 hours are being reported at ports of entry along the Texas-Mexico border, and the Pharr-Reynosa International Bridge in the lower Rio Grande Valley is effectively closed as Mexican truckers protest Abbott's policy.

This story is being updated.