JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday signed off on $2.2 million to fund a deployment of Missouri National Guard soldiers and Highway Patrol troopers to bolster “Operation Lone Star,†an effort by Texas to police the U.S.-Mexico border.
Parson made the announcement at a , just north of the town of Eagle Pass, which has served as a backdrop to Texas’ fight with the federal government over immigration enforcement.
“The reason we are down here is the total failure of the Biden administration,†said Parson, echoing a sentiment he’s expressed on other occasions this year.
“The battle that we’re fighting down here at the border, is keeping it from happening in our own borders in our own state in Missouri,†he said.
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Parson said the state’s National Guard and Highway Patrol have had “over 4,000 encounters†in less than two months in Texas, and “they’ve deterred five national terrorists coming across this border.â€
Missouri National Guard Adjutant General Levon Cumpton said the troops’ mission is “to prevent illegal immigration and to prevent illegal trafficking.â€
According to a from ±Ê²¹°ù²õ´Ç²Ô’s office issued Wednesday, “Soldiers routinely intercept undocumented migrants on foot and in vehicles and observe them until U.S. Customs & Border Protection officers respond to take custody and process.â€
Since March 15, approximately 50 Missouri Guard soldiers have been serving “side by side†with the Texas Guard, the statement said.
The additional funding for Missouri troops in Texas was broadly supported by Democrats and Republicans in the state Senate and House when it came up for a vote in both chambers.
The Wednesday news conference marked ±Ê²¹°ù²õ´Ç²Ô’s second trip to Texas this year.
In February, he went to Eagle Pass to join Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and 13 Republican governors for a briefing and news conference on Operation Lone Star. Later that month, he announced the activation of roughly 200 Missouri Guard members to “assist in the construction of physical barriers and with security patrols as needed.â€
Parson also authorized the deployment of the Highway Patrol to Texas and at the time said up to 22 patrol members could be sent.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, a Parson ally, led a contingent of officials to Texas to meet with highway patrol officers. Kehoe is running to replace the term-limited Parson as governor.
While immigration at the southern border has been a central campaign issue for Republicans both in Missouri and nationally this year, Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021.
“The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration,†said Abbott in a announcing the operation that year.
±Ê²¹°ù²õ´Ç²Ô’s this year declaring a state of emergency in order to provide resources “in support of securing the Texas/Mexico border†is in effect until June 13.
This legislation is a supplemental appropriations bill for the current fiscal year, Hous
Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.