Missouri National Guard

Missouri Gov. Mike Kehoe mobilized Guard members to assist ICE with "data entry, case management, and logistical support." Military experts say they also worry how these new deployments will affect recruitment and public trust.

State Senate Democratic Leader Doug Beck said Gov. Mike Kehoe should not have authorized a deployment just hours before the federal shutdown.

The move comes amid President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement practices garnering increasing criticism. Kehoe said that Missouri National Guard troops will help with "administrative, clerical and logistical duties."

While announcing the National Guard would go to Memphis next, President Trump said the head of Union Pacific also asked him to do the same in St. Louis. "He said, 'Sir please, do me a favor. St. Louis has been so badly hit. It's very hard. Very very hard.'"

The Trump administration requested assistance from the Missouri National Guard for clerical, transportation and logistical tasks for immigration authorities — not arrests. The Guard would remain under the authority of Missouri's governor.

Mayor Quinton Lucas called the action by Republican Mike Kehoe an "unnecessary escalation." He also criticized the state's lack of response when a white nationalist hate group marched through Kansas City last month.

The “No Kings Day of Defiance” was organized nationwide at the same time a military parade will mark the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary in Washington, D.C. The date also coincides with President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday as well as Flag Day.

Beginning Wednesday, the military force will assist in impacted city neighborhoods to sort through debris and take it to landfills.

Near Eagle Pass, Texas, on Wednesday, the Missouri governor and top general of the Missouri National Guard touted the bill, which funds the deployment for 200 troops and 22 highway patrol officers.

With bipartisan support, Missouri representatives voted 122-12 to approve the $2.2 million bill, which now goes to the Senate. The initial deployment of the troops will last at least 90 days but could be extended.

Missouri Gov. Mike Parson announced a plan Tuesday to add 200 Missouri National Guard members and 22 state highway patrol troopers to the 250 guardsmen already deployed to southern border. Parson blames the Biden administration's border policies for the fentanyl crisis in Missouri.

The Great War depleted the states’ National Guard troops, sending them overseas. Missouri was one of the states that backfilled the domestic duties with unpaid volunteers.