Looks Like Greg Abbott Failed to ‘Eliminate Rape’

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the same man who effectively trafficked dozens of immigrants on chartered buses to Democratic states, has managed to drag himself and his party to an appalling new low. At the end of last week, he unveiled a $100,000 billboard campaign effectively threatening undocumented immigrants with sexual violence should they cross the border. The billboards include such horrific messages as “How much did you pay to have your daughter raped?” and “Your wife and daughter will pay for the trip with their bodies.”Another billboard reads, “This 14-year-old girl was raped by more than 20 men on her way to the border. Protect your family. Change their fate.” 

Over the weekend, while speaking at a stunt press conference in front of a “rape tree”—a term for locations along the border where immigrant women are raped by traffickers and smugglers—Abbott described his billboards as “tough medicine.” He said these messages “implore those people in Central America to consider the violent, horrific realities of what will happen to the women and children they bring with them. … We want no more rape trees in Texas. Do not make the dangerous trek to Texas.”

As journalist Steven Monacelli pointed out, the disturbing billboard campaign incidentally comes three years after Abbott personally pledged to “eliminate rape,” which he declared in order to justify his abortion ban. Now, he’s wielding rape as a tool to advance his depraved political objectives. 

I’ve already heard one criticism that Abbott isn’t saying you’ll be raped if you cross the border illegally, but rather that he’s saying you’ll be raped on the way to trying to cross the border illegally

I don’t see how that significantly alters Abbott’s rhetorical weaponization of rape

[image or embed]

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti.bsky.social) December 22, 2024 at 8:38 AM

In 2021, when Texas’ six-week ban, SB 8, took effect, the governor responded to criticism of its lack of exceptions for rape with a statement of pure, nonsensical word vomit:

“Rape is a crime and Texas will work tirelessly to make sure we eliminate all rapists from the streets of Texas by aggressively going out and arresting them and prosecuting them and getting them off the streets. So goal number one in Texas is to eliminate rape so that no woman, no person, will be a victim of rape.”

A reminder that the notion of rape solely as a street-based crime is a completely unfounded right-wing talking point to bolster support for police; in reality, rape and gender-based violence primarily take place in the home, perpetrated by partners and acquaintances. But it’s not as if any of that matters to Abbott, who exclusively understands rape as a rhetorical tool. And, of course, he most certainly did not “eliminate rape”: One research paper in January estimated there had been 26,300 rape-induced pregnancies in Texas since 2022.

Texas Gov. Abbott when it’s about banning abortion: We will eliminate all rapists

Texas Gov. Abbott when it’s about immigration: If you cross the border illegally you will be raped

[image or embed]

— steven monacelli (@stevanzetti.bsky.social) December 22, 2024 at 7:16 AM

The billboard campaign itself effectively exposes that Republicans like Abbott know their sweeping narrative of those who cross the border as mythologized, violent criminals is a lie. They’re often incredibly vulnerable individuals, including families, women, and children, typically fleeing horrific circumstances that U.S. policies have exacerbated.

According to some estimates, between 60 and 80% of women and girls face sexual assault crossing the border. In 2018, one border patrol official told the Associated Press that migrant girls as young as 12 are put on birth control pills “because they know getting violated is part of the journey.” Sexual violence is rampant in immigrant detainment centers, too, and Abbott’s administration confirmed last month that they plan to immediately send newly arrived undocumented migrants to ICE holding centers.

Widespread sexual violence targeting immigrant women and girls is a real, terrifying issue. And Abbott—the same man who wants rape victims to carry their rapists’ babies—sees this as a political opportunity, rather than a crisis warranting leadership and compassion.