Texas Gov. Greg Abbott plans to strategically place 40 billboards in Central America and Mexico with messages warning of the “terrifying realities” undocumented immigrants face when attempting to cross into the Lone Star State. is standing.
Mr. Abbott stood in front of a burnt-out canola tree on Thursday at the Wall Ranch in Eagle Pass, Texas, showing six of the billboards that will be seen in El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico and along the Texas-Mexico border. A conceptual drawing of the completed project has been released.
“These billboards tell a horrifying story of human trafficking,” Abbott said. “They are asking Central Americans to consider the violent and horrifying reality of what will happen to the women and children they bring with them.
On one billboard featuring a pregnant woman, Abbott warned: “Your wife and daughter will be paying for the trip with their bodies.”
“This 14-year-old girl was raped by over 20 men on her way to the border. Protect her family. Change their fate,” another sign read.
“How much did you pay me to rape your daughter?” A third billboard has a grim message pasted over a smiling child's face.
Abbott said authorities have arrested “thousands” of migrants who circumvented the border wall, the controversial razor wire fence and the floating buoy border wall. The plan is to expand ahead of a surge by the time President-elect Trump takes office on January 20. .
“Through Operation Lone Star, we have done great work to stop illegal border crossers,” Abbott said. “But this new effort is aimed at stopping their journey in the first place. Until President Donald Trump returns to the White House to once again secure our border, we will continue to take all necessary steps to protect Texas.” We will continue to teach
Messages posted across Mexico, also written in Chinese, Arabic and Russian, told migrants they would be jailed if they entered Texas.
A billboard marketing campaign costs approximately $100,000.
“This is a difficult drug,” Abbott said. “But we want Texas to have no more rape trees. Don't make the dangerous journey to Texas.”
Rancher Kimberly Wall said she had witnessed “numerous women” being raped, assaulted and “abandoned” near her home and expressed concern for local safety.
“It's scary to leave your home and enjoy what you own,” Wall said. “I know my husband found three different rapeseed trees and burned them down. I don't know if he'll get attacked by one of the guys hiding in the bushes. We're all better than anyone. I want a good life.”
President Trump vowed to enact the largest deportation drive in history, use military assets to “stop the Biden invasion,” and declare a “national emergency” to deport illegal immigrants.
Last month, officials in the Lone Star State told the Post that Texas authorities were considering a plan to transport newly arrived illegal immigrants directly to ICE detention centers.
The proposed plan would allow expedited processing of immigrant deportations.
Under the proposed plan, buses chartered by Texas from border cities would be routed from sanctuary cities such as New York, Chicago and Denver to federal detention centers so Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents could process them more quickly. will be changed, officials said.
