JEFFERSON CITY, Mo.– On Tuesday, during a press conference at the State Capitol, Governor Mike Parson 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,” Governor Parson said. “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,” Governor Parson continued.
Governor Parson has issued Executive Order 24-03 to activate the MONG and the Governor’s Office’s discretionary emergency response fund.
Governor Parson’s plan to support border security along the Texas-Mexico border includes the following:
The deployment of up to 200 MONG members
Guard members will be deployed on a rotating basis of approximately 30 days.
The deployment of up to 22 MSHP troopers
Standard law enforcement equipment will accompany the troopers.
All MSHP troopers being deployed to the Southern Border have volunteered for the mission.
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.
MONG members will mainly assist in the construction of physical barriers and with security patrols as needed. MSHP troopers will work to support traffic enforcement, crime prevention, criminal interdiction, and other law enforcement agencies as needed.
Statistics Related to Missouri and the Southern Border Crisis:
Nearly 10 million individuals have entered the U.S. illegally since 2021, including known gotaways at the Southern Border
That’s larger than the population of 40 U.S. States, including Missouri.
Operation Lone Star alone has seized over 460 million lethal doses of fentanyl at the Southern Border.
That’s enough fentanyl to kill every American citizen with more than 100 million doses left over.
The Missouri State Highway Patrol seized nearly 12,500 grams of fentanyl in 2023 alone.
That’s enough to kill Missouri’s entire population twice over.
Since 2017, fentanyl overdoses have increased in Missouri by nearly 135 percent – with 75 percent of
that increase occurring since 2020.
At the last statewide report in 2022, 43 Missouri children died from fentanyl exposure.
EXECUTIVE ORDER
24-03
WHEREAS, I have been advised by the Director of the State Emergency Management Agency that the State of Texas is requesting assistance under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) to support the State of Texas with border operations; and
WHEREAS, the State of Texas requests assistance from the Missouri National Guard and Missouri State Highway Patrol to support the combined statewide operations along the 1,250 miles of the Texas/Mexico border by supplementing essential resources and capabilities, beginning on March 1, 2024, and continuing; and
WHEREAS, on February 13, 2024, I directed the Missouri National Guard and Missouri State Highway Patrol to initiate efforts to comply with the State of Texas’s request pursuant to the EMAC; and
WHEREAS, the EMAC is designed to protect the safety and welfare of the citizens in the affected participating EMAC states; and
WHEREAS, illegal crossings from Mexico into the United States of America have significant public safety and welfare impacts for the citizens of Missouri and the entire country, including the affected states within the EMAC; and
WHEREAS, protection of the safety and welfare of the citizens in the affected communities requires invoking the provisions of Section 44.415, RSMo, which provides for emergency mutual aid with other states, and Section 41.480, RSMo, which authorizes the Governor to call out the organized militia as he deems necessary to provide emergency relief to a distressed area in the event of an actual or threatened public catastrophe creating conditions of distress or hazard to public health and safety; and
WHEREAS, invoking the provisions of Sections 44.100 and 44.110, RSMo, is required to ensure the safety and welfare of the people of Missouri and to activate the resources necessary to keep Missourians safe.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, MICHAEL PARSON, GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF MISSOURI, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the State of Missouri, including Sections 44.100 and 44.110, RSMo, do hereby declare that a State of Emergency exists in the State of Missouri.
This State of Emergency is limited solely to providing resources in support of securing the Texas/Mexico border. I further declare, under Sections 44.415 and 41.480, RSMo, that the State of Missouri will respond to the EMAC request by the State of Texas and provide the resources necessary to assist in securing the Texas/Mexico border.
I hereby direct the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency to activate the EMAC plan, and I further authorize the use of the Missouri National Guard and Missouri State Highway Patrol to provide support to the State of Texas.
I further order, pursuant to Sections 41.480 and 41.690, RSMo, the Adjutant General of the State of Missouri, or his designee, to forthwith call and order into active service such portions of the organized militia as he deems necessary to aid the executive officials of Missouri, to protect life and property, and it is further directed that the Adjutant General or his designee, and through him, the commanding officer of any unit or other organization of such organized militia so called into active service take such action and employ such equipment as may be necessary in support of civilian authorities, and provide such assistance as may be authorized and directed by the Governor of this State.
I further authorize state agencies to provide assistance as needed.
This Order shall remain in effect until June 13, 2024, unless extended in whole or in part.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed the Great Seal of the State of Missouri, in the City of Jefferson, on this 20th day of February, 2024.
[Michael L. Parson’s signature]
MICHAEL L. PARSON
GOVERNOR
ATTEST:
[Jay Ashcroft’s signature]
JOHN R. ASHCROFT
SECRETARY OF STATE