Missouri Gov. Mike Parson signed into law on Wednesday the bill that back funds the deployment of about 200 Missouri National Guard troops and 22 State Highway Patrol officers to the Texas-Mexico border.
“I think the important takeaway for folks back home in Missouri is to realize the battle that we're fighting down here at the border is keeping it from happening in our own borders, in our own state,” Parson said at a press conference near Eagle Pass, Texas.
State Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, criticized the effort.
“This is a campaign stunt for a lot of people about the national fight happening over the border,” Merideth said. “What I think is frustrating is, while it’s just politics, it has real consequences.”
The $2.2 million supplemental budget bill passed both legislative chambers in Jefferson City with broad bipartisan support earlier this spring — despite some Democrats' objection to Parson’s decision to send the troops and officers.
Initially, the Republican governor issued the executive order in February, saying Missouri would be the 14th state to join Operation Lone Star. The initiative of Texas Gov. Greg Abbot seeks to curb the flow of illicit drugs and migrants from entering the country illegally. Abbot and the federal government have been fighting over the legality of his operation.
The Missouri troops and officers arrived in early March to help local law enforcement with their security patrols, said Parson and Gen. Levon Cumpton, the head of the Missouri National Guard.
The first half of the state troopers returned home at the end of March, according to the governor’s office. The second half of the troopers served until mid-April.
The initial deployment was scheduled to last 90 days but could be extended. Parson did not specify the timeline during Wednesday’s press conference. His office said it will reassess the future of the deployment when the executive order expires in mid-June.
Helping the Texas Army National Guard, the Missouri troops have detected and turned back more than 700 undocumented migrants, according to the governor’s office.
Parson and many GOP top executives and lawmakers point to the policies of President Joe Biden’s administration as the need for sending troops and officers to the U.S.-Mexico border. They point to statistics that show migrant encounters have reached record highs during Biden’s presidency.
The southern border has become an increasingly important issue for many voters, recent polls show. Republicans have made their critique a key 2024 campaign priority.
“The one thing I want to share with all Missourians: We are making a difference — without a doubt,” Parson said.
But some Democrats in Jefferson City said the governor’s decision to send aid to Texas does not help Missouri.
“We're always talking about making sure we take care of Missourians,” Rep. LaKeySha Bosley, D-St. Louis, said in March when the bill was being considered. “We are not doing that with this bill. We are trying to take care of somebody else's problem.”
Many in the opposing party said they voted for the bill because Parson already made his decision to send the troops and did not need legislative approval to do so. The bill would backfill state funding in case of an emergency in the state, Parson said.
But Merideth said that’s unnecessary because lawmakers could call a special session to pass legislation quickly in the event of a disaster like the Joplin tornado in 2011.
St. Louis Public Radio statehouse reporter Sarah Kellogg contributed to this report.
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