Texas' latest effort to deter migrants is an explicit billboard campaign in Mexico, Central America

EAGLE PASS, Texas (KTRK) -- Greg Abbott has announced 40 new billboards in Central America and Mexico in an effort to deter migrants from trying to enter the country illegally.

A sampling of six billboards behind Abbott at a news conference had messages including "Stop. If you cross the border illegally into Texas, you will be jailed," and "Your wife and daughter will pay for the trip with their bodies. Coyotes lie. Don't put your family at risk."

"They inform potential illegal immigrants about the reality of what will happen to them if they try to enter Texas illegally," Abbott said. "This is tough medicine."

According to Abbott, the public service campaign messages are in several languages, including Chinese, Russian, and Spanish, and are the state's latest move to try to stop migrants from crossing the border into Texas. Abbott estimated the billboard campaign will cost roughly $100,000.

The state has also built sections of border wall, installed concertina wire along the U.S.-Mexico border on the Rio Grande riverbank, and dispatched thousands of Department of Public Safety troopers who have arrested migrants on criminal trespassing charges.

According to the U.S. Border Patrol, the number of migrant people crossing our southern border has dropped sharply since record highs in 2023.

Even a current group of about 1,500 people traveling from southern Mexico is widely expected to break up, with Mexican officials stopping many of them from crossing over.

Still, many immigrants who are already here wonder how their lives will change in the next few weeks.

"I try not to worry because I do become a little anxious but I am hoping for the best even though I know things might change," Dulce Montelongo, a DACA recipient from Mexico, said.

She worries the program that legally keeps her in the country could soon disappear.

"That's the only thing that I have as far as working goes," she said. "Going back to school makes it a lot easier to support my family."

Houston native Lesley Gonzalez said she has many relatives who are here and are not U.S. citizens.

"It's scary all around, especially because the laws are constantly changing," she said.

The Texas Tribune contributed to this article.

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