Today, we announced that the State of Missouri will be providing up to 200 Missouri National Guard (MONG) members and 22 Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) troopers to support Texas Governor Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star mission at the Southern Border.
About two weeks ago, I visited the Southern Border, and let me not mince words when I say it is a crisis. The crisis at the Southern Border is fueling the fentanyl crisis here in our state. Missourians are dying; families are being ripped apart; communities are being destroyed, and Missouri children are falling victim. It all stems from the Biden Administration's reckless, irresponsible, and failing open-border policies. With our Southern Border wide open, every state is now a border state.
President Biden and the federal government must step up to stop illegal entry into our nation, to stop the free flow of fentanyl into our communities, and combat the rise of human trafficking, but we've waited long enough. Missouri will act by deploying our own resources to secure our nation's border.
We have issued Executive Order 24-03 to activate the MONG and the Governor's Office's discretionary emergency response fund. Our plan to support border security along the Texas-Mexico border includes the following:
• The deployment of up to 200 MONG members
• The deployment of up to 22 MSHP troopers
• A $2.3 million supplemental budget request to the Missouri General Assembly to support border security efforts and backfill the Governor's Office's emergency response fund
MSHP troopers will begin active support by March 1, and MONG personnel will begin their mission on March 10. Advance and logistical planning for both deployments is currently underway in coordination with the State of Texas.
MONG and MSHP personnel will be working to help secure the border, prevent illegal immigration, and stop illicit drug and human trafficking.
The critics will say we have our own battles within our own Missouri borders, while that is certainly true, we would much rather do what we can to fight this fight on the Southern Border than let it take root in our own backyards.
Missouri may not be physically located on the border with Mexico, but the Biden Administration’s open-border policies have made this crisis a Missouri crisis. While the federal government sleeps at the wheel, Mexican cartels are growing richer and human traffickers more daring, and the consequences aren’t just affecting Texans but Missouri families and families across the nation too.
The more illegal crossings we can stop and fentanyl we can help seize in Texas… means less Missouri families torn apart and less Missouri children losing their lives.
More info: https://governor.mo.gov/.../governor-parson-announces...
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