JEFFERSON CITY — The Missouri House voted 122-12 Thursday to pay $2.2 million to send National Guard troops and a contingent of highway patrol officers to aid Texas’ efforts to patrol the nation’s southern border.
Acting on a request by Republican Gov. Mike Parson, the funding will finance his plan to send 200 Missouri National Guard troops and 11 members of the Missouri Highway Patrol to the Lone Star State this month.
Although there is $4 million for emergency costs already available in the budget, Parson, a Republican, is seeking the midyear funding adjustment as a buffer in case money is needed for other emergencies that may arise in the state.
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The administration doesn’t want to roll the dice in case a tornado, flooding or other natural disaster hits the state before the end of the fiscal year on June 30.
Rep. Chad Perkins, a Pike County Republican, said he was “proud” to send Missouri troops and highway patrol to Texas.
“Every state is a border state. If we don’t have a border we don’t have a country,” Perkins said.
Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, D-Kansas City, urged a “yes” vote in the absence of action in the U.S. Capitol.
“For far too many years Congress has punted on the issue of serious immigration reform,” said Nurrenbern, who is running for a seat in the state Senate.
Parson announced the decision last month after witnessing “the crisis” on a recent trip to Texas, placing blame on President Joe Biden for what he described as a “wide open” border.
Parson joined other Republican governors who said they would dip into taxpayer coffers to assist Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott in his election-year standoff with the federal government.
Guard members will “assist in the construction of physical barriers and with security patrols as needed.”
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 “enhanced enforcement efforts” by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
In February, U.S. House members shot down a bipartisan border security package after former President Donald Trump disapproved the proposed deal.
The first deployment is scheduled to be active in Texas this weekend 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.
Eleven Missouri Highway Patrol troopers have been in Texas since March 1. They will be partnered with Texas troopers, riding with them in their vehicles near the border and answering calls.
Up to 22 highway patrol troopers could be deployed.
The National Guard already has a presence in Texas. There have been 250 Missouri National Guard members in the state for the past four years under federal orders.
“I can’t support this bill. We already have troops there,” said Rep. Ingrid Burnett, D-Kansas City. “I think it’s a reckless to deplete our service people even more.”
Missouri National Guard Adjutant General Levon Cumpton said sending troops to Texas will not impact services back home. In all, there are 12,000 soldiers in the state.
The package now heads to the Senate for further debate.
The legislation is .
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Major General Levon E. Cumpton discuss the plan to send roughly 200 Missouri National Guard troops to support Texas’ Operation Lone Star at the southern border. Video courtesy of the Governor's office, edited by Jenna Jones.
