(Jacob Bruns, Headline USA) Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott triggered widespread speculation on social media Sunday with a tweet warning residents—and potential illegal immigrants—that alligators were present in parts of the Rio Grande, Newsweek reported.
Abbott retweeted a video from fisherman Luis De La Torre of alligators in the river, along with a warning for those who might consider sneaking across the border.
“Alligators are in the Rio Grande,” he wrote. “FYI there are warning signs posted in some sectors.”
The governor added that he would advise people to “cross at your own risk.”
It wasn’t Abbott’s first such warning. In a May 2023 post, he shared footage of an alligator lurking near a boat.
The Texas National Guard took this picture in the Rio Grande river near Eagle Pass. pic.twitter.com/j7eslPNbmV
— Greg Abbott (@GregAbbott_TX) May 18, 2023
According to Abbott, the footage was from the river near Eagle Pass, Texas, a small border town southwest of San Antonio that has become one of the central points of entry for many illegals.
In 2022, a Newsweek report suggested that the gators were intentionally released into the river in order to scare potential immigrants out of crossing.
Though alligators are native to the Rio Grande Valley, the population has been in steep decline in recent decades.
Regardless, the videos sparked commentary on Twitter that the reptiles would make patriotic border defenders, with a few suggesting that Abbott or Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis might have relocated them there deliberately.
“Thank you, MAGA gators, for doing the job our elected officials refuse to do,” one Twitter user wrote in response.
Thank you, MAGA gators, for doing the job our elected officials refuse to do.🫡
— Democrat Plague (@DemocratPlague) April 29, 2024
“Now, if we could only increase their population. . . these bad boys would be the best border control agents you could ask for,” said another.
Now, if we could only increase their population…these bad boys would be the best border control agents you could ask for. 😊
— Liberacrat Media™️ (@Liberacrat_) April 29, 2024
Another offered schematics for the perfect border-wall defenses, which would incorporate something like a moat with alligators in it on the U.S. side.
My dream border security is becoming a reality! 🎊🎇 pic.twitter.com/vJZSXmwjV5
— Dolly (@DollyD2022) April 29, 2024
Gators aside, Abbott has struggled to quell illegal border crossings in the state with many hundreds of miles of border, particularly in the age of President Joe Biden and his pro-illegal immigration policies.
After a yearslong rhetorical battle with Biden, who has allowed an immigration crisis to continue unfettered, the Texas Republican has begun taking matters into his own hands with varying degrees of success.
Among those efforts was an attempt to put razor-wire fencing along the border in high-traffic areas, including the river-crossings, via floating buoys.
However, that effort was shot down by U.S. Supreme Court after the Department of Homeland Security sued, claiming that Texas was interfering with the federal government’s operations.
