Greg Abbott's Complicit Silence
The building of the Big Bend Border Wall could be his greatest folly.
On Monday, Governor Abbott posted to his Instagram account (and I presume other social media outlets) this image and sentiment marking Texas Independence Day. I’m not even going to get into the extreme lack of nuance and truth in his first statement but will direct you instead to the real meat of the post, which is the delusional belief that a/the border wall will somehow make Texas safer—“to keep Texas, Texas”.
Approximately a month ago, news began trickling out that the Big Bend region of the state was very likely going to end up getting a border wall soon, something that’s been discussed for the last decade. It’s very telling to me that the Governor chose to mark Texas Independence Day with this particular photo and to discuss the border wall on the heels of this news. Sure, the primaries were the following day, but looking at the results for his primary, he certainly had no reason to worry about losing his spot on the ballot in November by kowtowing to his far right constituency. So, why choose this sentiment and photo for any other reason than that he very likely supports the destruction of what makes Texas, Texas—that he’s ok losing the cultural and environmental beauty of Big Bend National Park and Big Bend Ranch State Park and the other associated border areas in the region in favor of defending a so-called frontier?
The flip side of this is that I saw that the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation re-posted a Reel from Grahame Jones, Executive Director of the Texas Conservation Alliance regarding the proposal. I learned enough when Governor Abbott let Fairfield Lake State Park go to a developer that a lot of the Governor’s opinions and real thoughts were usually weaved through backchannels and advocacy groups. Even so, his heart was never completely in it and he lost Texans an entire state park! He seems willing to do the same right now in the Big Bend, by act of desecration, because it appears he has no spine to challenge the President or most of his constituents. Even some of those constituents are appalled by a completely unnecessary border wall through Big Bend.
So, which is the real message? The one on social media repeating party mantras or the one that may be filtering out via other mouthpieces? Is he so chickenshit that he can’t say what he truly believes or wants to our faces? Tell us the truth Governor Abbott, do you want a border wall through Big Bend or are you just trying to appease Certain People by being coy? Either way, you are up for reelection in November and we’re going to remember your legacy which may very well be one that includes “The Governor Who Destroyed Big Bend”.
Since my essay last week didn’t include Big Bend photos I decided to dig out my photo album from that time and flip through to take a few photos of those photos. Ah, the era of choosing from 24 photos on a roll of film instead of 100+ on a phone camera roll library! But those 24 photos captured the essence of that trip and the freedom of being 19/20 years old and in college in an era where you could truly disconnect from everything.
Those photos showed me just how little of the park we were able to explore during our time there. We hiked to so many great places including one I wasn’t able to recall the name of until I pulled the park map up because I only knew of it based on its location on the map in my brain—Ernst Tinaja. I have photos of the tinaja, too, but didn’t end up choosing those to share here. Looking at the information on the park’s website on how to get to the tinaja, I now wonder how we even managed to drive the road in the vehicles we had at the time! I was also able to figure out that the campground we stayed at was the Rio Grande Village.
I tried digging around for historic records of Governor Abbott’s statements on the border wall through Big Bend and some of the earliest sentiments I’ve seen reference him being “publicly opposed” to a wall in Big Bend, such as this article in the National Review from 2017. 2017 feels like a completely different era in terms of politics or life today. However, one sentiment still seems clear now as it did in 2017:
“Big Bend’s wild, dry, imposing terrain poses its own natural barrier: In 2016, Big Bend had the fewest illegal border crossings “of any sector along the Texas border,” according to the Austin American-Statesman.”
A recent report from December 5, 2025 on the Customs and Border Protection’s website says that illegal border crossings in the Big Bend Sector had fallen significantly in 2025, a decline of 74% from two years prior. I’m leery of trusting data points from any government agency right now, especially one trying to compare numbers from this administration to the previous one, but I’ll use it here to back up the statement from a decade ago.
And here’s a great story from NPR from 2019 with a lot of graphics, including a chart showing just how few illegal border crossings occur in the Big Bend region compared to the rest of the US/Mexico border. And at the heart of this article is the reality: that much of the “illegal immigration” happened by people who came to the US via proper, legal channels and just overstayed their visas.
Building a border wall or fence through the Big Bend region makes no feasible sense other than to make a political statement by the people running this current federal mafia state. Governor Abbott was apparently publicly opposed to a border wall through Big Bend a decade ago and this week he’s posting rhetoric that contradicts those statements. And as legislators from both political parties have been putting out statements of opposition, Abbott has remained silent and unwilling to put forth any real statement on his true thoughts on the issue.
Texans want to hear it from your mouth, Governor Abbott: Do you support building a wall through the Big Bend region or not? You owe us at least that much as the current leader of this state.
“The Texas Revolution began in October 1835 with the battle of Gonzales and ended on April 21, 1836, with the battle of San Jacinto, but earlier clashes between government forces and frontier colonists make it impossible to set dogmatic limits in terms of military battles, cultural misunderstandings, and political differences that were a part of the revolution. The seeds of the conflict were planted during the last years of Spanish rule (1815–21) when Anglo Americans drifted across the Neutral Ground and the eastern bank of the Red River into Spanish territory, squatted on the land, and populated Spanish Texas. More alarming than these illegal residents, who only wanted to “settle and stay,” were filibusters such as Philip Nolan, who commandeered portions of Spanish lands for personal gain and political capital.” - Eugene C. Barker and James W. Pohl, revised by Mary L. Scheer via the Texas State Historical Association.
Further Reading: We Were Illegal: Uncovering A Texas Family’s Mythmaking and Migration by Jessica Goudeau - I also recommend her Injustice Report newsletter.
I debated using the word chickenshit to describe Greg Abbott but then someone told me WWMID—What Would Molly Ivins Do? and that sealed the deal for me. I’m no St. Molly, but we could certainly use someone like her pushing buttons in today’s political climate. Anyway, if the word fits…
Who knows what Abbott and the rest really think about the wall, about wild places and Texas' wild heritage? Part of our state of confusion today is that these MAGA politicians seem to have no discernable moral compass; they believe one thing today and something else when it appeals to bubba, or to the orange menace. And because of their power it makes our world so unpredictable and unsafe. I hope no wall is ever built there, but it seems it will depend on the momentary state of crazy.
No wall through Big Bend. No way.