Democrat Beto O'Rourke pounced on reports that Gov. Greg Abbott's inspection policy for all commercial trucks entering Texas from Mexico is causing massive trade backlogs and said Tuesday that the two-term Republican "is killing businesses and the Texas economy."

"It's going to be very bad for the Texas economy. It's going to be very bad for the national economy," O'Rourke said during a news conference inside an empty cold-storage warehouse in the border community of Pharr.

The former congressman from El Paso who will face Abbott in the November election was joined by two South Texans who said their livelihoods have been upended as trucks seeking to bring produce and manufactured goods into Texas are waiting in the rigs for up to 16 hours while each truck awaits a 45-minute inspection.

Abbott last week ordered the inspections, saying they are needed to help control the influx of migrants and illicit drugs into Texas. But the inspections being carried out by troopers from the Texas Department of Public Safety focus chiefly on the vehicles' roadworthiness and not on their cargo. It is up to federal agents to examine trucks' content, which typically takes place at checkpoints miles from the Rio Grande.