Gov. Greg Abbott fights effort to obtain price tag for controversial border billboards

Gov. Greg Abbott was more than happy last month to tout a controversial international billboard campaign his office launched to deter migrants from illegally crossing into Texas.

Now, he’s not so eager to share the project’s price tag, San Antonio TV station KSAT reports.

The Republican governor held a mid-December press conference to announce the purchase of the billboards in Mexico and Central America. The signs bear shocking messages including, “How much did you pay to have your daughter raped?”

At the time, Abbott said the campaign would cost Texas taxpayers an estimated $100,000.

However, when KSAT asked Abbott’s office for the records, officials stonewalled, saying they had asked the Texas Attorney General’s Office to decide whether they’re required to share the details.

Abbott, who’s increasingly echoed incoming-President Donald Trump’s anti-immigrant rhetoric, has so far spent $11 billion in taxpayer money on his Operation Lone Star border-security program.

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This article appears in Jan 8-21, 2025.