Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) launched new graphic billboards warning that migrants crossing the border could be raped or kidnapped, in an effort to curb illegal immigration at the southern border in Texas.
The roughly 40 billboards will be installed in Central America and Mexico and will be written in Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, and Russian, Abbott said. He estimated the billboard campaign would cost roughly $100,000.
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“Your wife and daughter will pay for the trip with their bodies.” reads one sign.
“Coyotes lie. Don’t put your family at risk,” another billboard reads, with coyotes referring to smugglers who help people cross the border. “Many girls are raped by the coyotes you hire,” states another billboard.
Other billboards more simply caution migrants that they will be arrested at the border if they arrive and jailed.
If you come to Texas illegally, you will be arrested.
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) December 23, 2024
The new billboard campaign Texas launched in Mexico and Central America makes that very clear.
This border security strategy is to deter migrants from crossing illegally into Texas. pic.twitter.com/MBAt9LVBLh
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“This new effort is about stopping their journey from even beginning in the first place. Until President Donald Trump is back in the White House to secure our border once again, we will continue to take every step necessary to defend Texas,” Abbott said in a press release on the new initiative.
Illegal border crossings in Texas have already declined by 87% since the state began Operation Lone Star program in 2021 to crack down on illegal immigration, according to the governor’s office. President Joe Biden’s cap on the number of asylum-seekers crossing the southern border via executive order has also resulted in a decline of border crossings since the cap was enacted this summer.