Gov. Mike Parson flanked by Major General Levon E. Cumpton announced plans on Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024, to deploy the Missouri National Guard and Missouri Highway Patrol troopers to assist Texas address illegal immigration. Screengrab
JEFFERSON CITY â Gov. Mike Parson on Tuesday announced the activation of roughly 200 Missouri National Guard troops to support Texasâ Operation Lone Star at the southern border, a move that has been anticipated for more than two weeks.
âThere is complete and utter chaos at the border, and the federal government is failing to do its job to protect the states and our people,â Parson said at a news conference late Tuesday afternoon.
Guard members will âassist in the construction of physical barriers and with security patrols as needed.â
Parson said he expects the first deployment to be active in Texas on March 10, and rotating groups of National Guard members will be deployed roughly every 30 days. The mission is set to last 90 days, though it could be extended.
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âWe will continuously work with Texas to evaluate needed support moving forward,â Parson said.
Eleven Missouri Highway Patrol troopers will also be in Texas beginning March 1. They will be partnered with Texas troopers, âriding with them in their vehicles near the border and answering calls,â said Col. Eric Olson, highway patrol superintendent.
Up to 22 highway patrol troopers could be deployed.
Parson issued an executive order to activate the National Guard for the mission, and he is asking the Legislature for an additional $2.3 million in this yearâs budget to support it.
Parson framed the stateâs guard presence in Texas as a response to illegal immigration, human trafficking and a fentanyl crisis that is ripping families apart and destroying communities.
The service members will join about 250 National Guard troops who were previously deployed in Texas.
Guard members from two companies based in Festus and Harrisonville are already assisting U.S. Customs and Border Protection along the southwest border âto enable CBP agents to conduct their law enforcement mission more efficiently,â according to a guard spokesperson.
Gov. Mike Parson met with Texas law enforcement officers on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, during a fact-finding visit to the border.
Parsonâs announcement comes after Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Friday revealed plans to build âa new Texas Military Department base camp to increase and improve border security operationsâ in Eagle Pass.
The Texas Military Department âacquired 80 acres of landâ to build the base, which will house up to 2,300 troops, according to a news release from Abbottâs office.
Parson two weeks ago traveled to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass with 13 other Republican governors for a news conference to address âPresident Joe Bidenâs reckless open border policiesâ and a âsecurity briefingâ on Texasâ Operation Lone Star.
He also signed a January statement with 24 other Republican governors supporting âTexasâ constitutional right to self-defense ⦠from historic levels of illegal immigrants, deadly drugs like fentanyl, and terrorists.â
Parson has expressed support for Abbottâs approach to immigration and border security, and both Republican governors have blamed border security challenges on the Biden administration.
Amid the Missouri Legislatureâs annual state budget negotiations for the upcoming fiscal year, Parson zeroed out a $5 million request from the National Guard to boost recruitment efforts. According to the agencyâs budget request, the guard is authorized to have 11,500 troops, but the actual number of soldiers is about 10,600.
Parsonâs commitment to deploy more Missouri troops in Texas comes during an election season in which immigration at the southern border has been placed at the center of local, state and national political battles.
Illegal crossings at the southern border reached an all-time high in December, but that figure dropped by 50% in January due to seasonal trends and âenhanced enforcement effortsâ by CPB, according to a CPB news release.
U.S. House members last week in a narrow 216-214 vote impeached Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for his handling of migration at the southern border. Mayorkas will likely not face trial in the Democrat-controlled U.S Senate, which would be responsible for the trial and any subsequent conviction and ouster.
U.S. House members shot down a bipartisan border security package earlier this month after former President Donald Trump disapproved the proposed deal.
And Abbott has touted his efforts to bus migrants from Texas to Democrat-controlled cities like New York and Chicago.
In Missouri, several state lawmakers seeking higher office have filed legislation to limit illegal immigration in the state. Some Missouri Republican lawmakers in the wake of the Kansas City Chiefs parade shooting on social media erroneously attributed the violence to an illegal immigrant and suggested Bidenâs border policies played a role in the shooting.
The political rhetoric around the U.S.-Mexico border is reminiscent of the 2016 presidential election when Trump pledged to build a border wall funded by Mexico and the 2020 presidential election when Trump again used tough-on-immigration messaging in his campaign.Â
