Greg Abbott Issues Deadly Alligator Warning to Migrants

Texas Governor Greg Abbott has warned migrants of alligators in the Rio Grande river.

"Alligators are in the Rio Grande. FYI there are warning signs posted in some sectors. Cross at your own risk," the Republican wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.

Abbott's post came in response to a journalist's video of an alligator that a resident spotted while fishing in the Rio Grande in Eagle Pass.

"Local resident, Luis De La Torre, came across an alligator while fishing this morning at the Rio Grande," Auden B. Cabello's post said. "Previous sightings of alligators have been confirmed by Border Patrol."

Newsweek has contacted Abbott's office for further comment via email.

Alligators are common in swamps, rivers, bayous, and marshes of the southern U.S., including the eastern third of Texas, according to Texas Parks and Wildlife.

"As human populations in Texas continue to expand, there have been an increased number of encounters between people and alligators," the website states.

Abbott's warning came amid a dispute with President Joe Biden and his administration's attempts to stop a rollout of aggressive border measures by Texas to deter illegal border crossings from Mexico.

Texas placed a 1,000-foot-long floating barrier of buoys in the Rio Grande as part of Abbott's multi-billion border mission called Operation Lone Star.

U.S. District Judge David Ezra in Austin on Friday ruled the Biden administration may move forward with a lawsuit alleging Texas violated an environmental law by installing the barrier.

Judge Ezra said the U.S. Department of Justice's claim that the buoys are covered by a law that requires states to get federal approval before obstructing navigable waterways was plausible enough to allow the lawsuit to proceed, Reuters reported.

Immigration has become a central issue ahead of the 2024 election, which is set to be a rematch of the 2020 race between Biden and former president Donald Trump.

Arrests for illegal crossings fell by half from a record-high of 250,000 in December. Still, Abbott has repeatedly blamed the migrant encounters on Biden's immigration policies and said the state has taken matters into its own hands.

"Texas stepped up to do President Biden's job: secure our border," he wrote on X on Friday. "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."

As well as installing razor wire fencing along the border, Texas has bussed migrants to Demoratic-led states and passed a law that would allow the state to arrest and deport people who enter the U.S. illegally. Earlier this month, Abbott also shared photos on social media of members of the Texas National Guard using airboats to patrol the Rio Grande.