Commercial trucks are inspected by a Texas Department of Public Safety trooper at an inspection station in Brownsville on April 12, 2022. DPS began inspecting commercial vehicles again this week in Brownsville, causing long delays., The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
The inspections started Tuesday and “will continue for an undetermined amount of time,” Ericka Miller, a DPS spokesperson, said in an email. The inspections are happening at the Veterans International Bridge at Los Tomates that connects Brownsville with Matamoros, Tamaulipas, according to DPS.A different DPS spokesperson
Over eight days in April, troopers inspected more than 4,100 vehicles. They didn’t find any drugs, weapons or other contraband, but they took 850 vehicles off the road for various equipment violations and cited at least 345 drivers for things such as underinflated tires, broken turn signals and oil leaks.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents routinely — and randomly — inspect commercial cargo coming from Mexico for illegal drugs and people being smuggled as soon as truckers cross the international bridges.