Former President Donald Trump recently posted about resorting to the use of alligators in order to deter migrants from coming across the U.S. southern border in an apparent joke on Wednesday.
Taking to Truth Social, Trump posted a photograph of gators massing on bank of a river and baring their teeth with the captions “New Border Security,” “Will Work For Food,” and “Problem solved!!”
Trump’s less-than-politically correct suggestion comes amidst a surge in border crossings.
“Border numbers are getting astronomically high and are fast approaching the all time record numbers we saw in May,” reported Fox News’ Bill Melugin on Tuesday. “September numbers are on track to potentially set a new all time record, & DHS still hasn’t released August numbers, which will be 230,000 – highest of 2023.”
It was noted that the morning before that, Melugin observed that “one of the largest mass illegal crossings we have ever seen took place in Eagle Pass, TX” and was told by Border Patrol that “over 2,200 people crossed” overnight.
On Wednesday, shortly before Trump made his Truth Social post, Melugin characterized the situation in Eagle Pass as “a total free for all.”
“Mass illegal crossing taking place for over an hour and a half. Almost 2 years to the day we saw 15,000+ Haitians under the bridge in Del Rio, we now have thousands of predominantly Venezuelans gathering under Eagle Pass bridge,” he continued.
Trump was never able to complete the signature promise of his 2016 presidential campaign — the completion of a border wall along the southern border — over the course of his presidency.
According to New York Times reporters Michael Shear and Julie Hirschfield Davis, this isn’t the first time Trump has raised the idea of using alligators at the border.
In an excerpt from their 2019 book Border Wars: Inside Trump’s Assault on Immigration, the pair wrote that Trump “talked about fortifying a border wall with a water-filled trench, stocked with snakes or alligators, prompting aides to seek a cost estimate. He wanted the wall electrified, with spikes on top that could pierce human flesh.”
It’s a total free for all in Eagle Pass right now. Mass illegal crossing taking place for over an hour and a half. Almost 2 years to the day we saw 15,000+ Haitians under the bridge in Del Rio, we now have thousands of predominantly Venezuelans gathering under Eagle Pass bridge. pic.twitter.com/VkfUQnexGZ
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) September 20, 2023
