Texas Governor Greg Abbott hailed for issuing deadly ‘Alligator’ warning to migrants

Amid ongoing battle with the Biden administration’s attempts to thwart Texas’ implementation of strong border controls to discourage unauthorised border crossings from Mexico, Governor Greg Abott has issued a major warning to migrants crossing the Rio Grande river.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott’s warning came after a journalist shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, to inform about an alligator that a local discovered while fishing in the river.(AFP)

The warning came after a journalist shared a video on X, formerly Twitter, to inform about an alligator that a local discovered while fishing in the river.

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“Local resident, Luis De La Torre, came across an alligator while fishing this morning at the Rio Grande,” Auden B. Cabello wrote. He further mentioned that Border Patrol has earlier confirmed sightings of alligators in the river.

On Sunday, Abott re-shared the post, writing, “Alligators are in the Rio Grande. FYI there are warning signs posted in some sectors. Cross at your own risk.”

Netizens react to Greg Abbott’s warning: ‘We need more alligators’

Several netizens commented on Abbott’s post, with few suggesting that alligators can be used to stop influx of illegal migrants.

“I don’t see enough alligators. Put more. I can drop a couple extra on my next visit to Texas,” one X user wrote.

“Good, the entire river should be full of them!” a second user added, while third one chimed in, “And it’s mating season so the big bulls are aggressive!”

Some of the netizens went on to say that “Good!. Now we only need 5,000 more to stop the invasion.”

According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, alligators are commonly find in rivers and marshes of the southern part of the United States, including the eastern third of Texas. The website also states that there have been a surge in number of encounters between locals and alligators.

Also Read: Can Joe Biden ‘shut down’ the Texas border?

Immigration takes centre stage ahead of November elections

Immigration has emerged as a key topic ahead of the 2024 election, which will see a rematch between Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump.

While the number of arrests for unlawful crossings have been decreased by half, Abbott has maintained that Texas has taken matters into its own hands and blasted Biden’s immigration rules for migrant encounters.

Last week, in a post on X, Abott wrote that Texas is taking up Biden’s job to “secure our border”. “Our stiff resistance is working. Texas is building our own border wall, laid down miles of razor wire, and seized over 476 MILLION doses of deadly fentanyl.”