Area lawmakers weigh in on governor's decision to send Guard troops to southern border

Three state representatives from Southeast Missouri spoke in favor of Gov. Mike Parson’s announcement Tuesday, Feb. 22, that he will send up to 200 National Guard members and up to 22 state Highway Patrol troopers to support Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s “Operation Lone Star” plan at the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas.

Reps. Jamie Burger, Barry Hovis and John Voss each praised the governor’s decision.

“I think our border crisis on the north and south ends of our country is our biggest problem that we have going on in the country, amongst other things,” Burger said. “Until we can control our border, we’re going to have illegals getting into the state of Missouri, too. We can control that more in Texas, and I hope some of the other states follow suit. I’m in complete support of what Gov. Parson is doing.”

Parson requested $2.3 million to fund the deployment. Missouri will join 14 other states — Arkansas, Florida, Iowa, Idaho, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming — that have sent military and police personnel to the southern border.

“I know that there’s $2.3 million that they’ve placed in a supplemental budget over this request to help out the Texas governor,” Hovis said. “I know our governor has been in constant conversation with the governor of Texas, and he has pledged our support. I support what the governor wants to do to try and help stem that tide and help slow down the illegals that are coming across here because I don’t think enough has been done by the federal government.”

The decision to mobilize came after Parson visited the border approximately two weeks ago. The governor described the situation as a “crisis”, and Burger, Hovis and Voss each agreed with his sentiment.

“Based on the news reports that I see, it sure looks like we don’t have a secure border, and I’m not sure everybody that’s crossing illegally has our best interest as a country in their heart,” Voss said. “I would welcome any opportunity to secure our border and make sure that citizens are able to enjoy their freedoms.”

National Guard members are to be deployed on a 30-day rotating basis and MSHP troopers will begin their active support by Friday, March 1. Each MSHP trooper being deployed will have volunteered to go. The governor’s news release stated the deployed personnel would be working with Texas to “help secure the border, prevent illegal immigration and stop illicit drug and human trafficking.”

The ongoing fentanyl problem in the United States, and Missouri in particular, was mentioned by each representative as one of the main issues the country faces regarding illegal immigration. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, fentanyl seizures increased by 800% between 2019 and 2022, although most seizures occur at legal points of entry.

“There’s multiple ways (to smuggle in illicit drugs),” Hovis said. “We had an operation out of Cape Girardeau where they were using a trucking company to put tons of marijuana, or other drugs, at the front of the truck. Then, they’d put in produce or fruit and truck it all over the United States. ... That was something where they would go through the legal areas and just sneak it in.

“I’ve also heard from some of the border personnel that work down there that they have got a group that is carrying backpacks. You can carry a lot of fentanyl in a backpack, just a sickening amount. They would have people cross the border to divert law enforcement away from where they were coming across with their controlled substances. They were using a lot of people coming across the border as a way to divert their attention away from where they were sneaking in the stuff.”

According to Burger, the issue at the border is one of the main concerns of his constituents.

“When I travel about Southeast Missouri, and here in Jeff City, that is on everyone’s mind,” Burger said. “Everyone is very, very concerned about the route our country is going with illegal immigration considering we have immigration laws in place and we should control our border. We try to police the world. We try to police Ukraine to protect their borders from Russia, but we don’t protect our own. I think we’re missing the boat somewhere along the line and we have to protect our country.”

A bipartisan immigration bill designed to help slow the pace at which undocumented immigrants are entering the country stalled in early February because of language that included sending financial aid to Ukraine and Israel. President Joe Biden is now considering issuing an executive order to crack down on the border, an action Burger believes the president should take.

“President (Donald) Trump had policies in place that were controlling our border, the ’Stay in Mexico’ thing,” Burger said. “Biden should have never lifted that. He has the ability to enforce our border without this bill and that’s what he should be doing.”