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DPS reports nearly 14,000 violations found during enhanced vehicle inspections

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The Texas Department of Public Safety continues conducting inspections on every commercial vehicle coming into Texas from Mexico at seven ports of entry.

Three of those ports of entry are in the Rio Grande Valley.  

According to DPS spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez, 4,133 commercial vehicles have been inspected as of Wednesday.

A total of 13,651 violations were found during the inspections.

RELATED: Gov. Abbott scales back enhanced vehicle inspections at one Texas bridge

Eighty-four drivers were placed out of service for those violations, while 973 commercial vehicles were placed "out of service" for serious safety violations – meaning drivers cannot operate their vehicle until they are in compliance, Olivarez said.

The inspections have not discovered any examples of human smuggling or migrants, Lt. Olivarez said.

Olivarez said the inspections are different from the ones conducted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

“They are inspecting for contraband, they are checking the cargo, they are x-raying these commercial vehicles that are coming across,” Lt. Olivarez said of the inspections done by CBP. “They are not doing a safety inspection on the vehicle or the driver."

Once commercial vehicle drivers are cleared to enter the United States - troopers at DPS stations already located at port of entries will inspect drivers and their vehicles to verify that they're in compliance with state and federal regulations.

“We are not doing double the work as far as re-inspecting what Customs and Border Protection is doing, they are two different inspections,” Olivarez added. 

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