JEFFERSON CITY 鈥 Gov. Mike Parson has no plans to send more Missouri National Guard members to the Texas border, but he left money in the budget for the next chief executive to decide if that鈥檚 a priority.
In action Friday, the Republican governor used his veto powers to reduce an $8 million allocation to $2 million to pay for sending troops to the Lone Star State as part of an ongoing election-year effort by the GOP to highlight immigration as a threat to the nation.
The governor, who leaves office in January, telegraphed his move in May, telling reporters the $8 million wasn鈥檛 necessary.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 ask for that, and we don鈥檛 need that money,鈥 Parson said.
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The governor joined a number of fellow Republican chief executives in February to send troops to the border in response to a request from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has tussled with the Biden administration over immigration policy.
The result was 200 Missouri National Guard members and 22 Missouri Highway Patrol troopers headed south. The deployment ended June 13.
鈥淓very state is a border state, but thanks to Governor Abbott leading where President (Joe) Biden and the federal government have failed, the rest of the nation can rest a little easier knowing their Republican Governors are fighting to help keep them safe,鈥 Parson said upon their return.
Missouri soldiers assisted Texas Army National Guard members in the surrender of 2,400 undocumented migrants and the return at another 1,000 once they were detected, according to the governor鈥檚 office.
Between March and mid-April, the office said the highway patrol was involved in 1,432 traffic stops, including 519 undocumented migrants.
While Parson has indicated he鈥檚 done with the intervention, other candidates for statewide office continue to make immigration an issue.
Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, who is chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and a candidate for lieutenant governor, urged Parson to keep the money intact in the budget after he joined a parade of candidates visiting the border as part of their campaigns.
In a letter to Parson, Hough wrote, 鈥淔unding this order is crucial for safeguarding our border and protecting Missouri and its communities.鈥
House Speaker Dean Plocher, R-Des Peres, who is running for secretary of state, recently formed a House committee designed to keep a spotlight on immigration. The so-called Special Interim Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes has not yet met.
Sen. Bill Eigel, R-Weldon Spring, has made immigration a centerpiece in his campaign for governor, saying he would deport immigrants if they are in Missouri without documentation.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who also has visited the border, has joined others in alleging that undocumented migrants are bringing fentanyl into the state as he faces off against Eigel and Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.
And three Republican senators, including secretary of state candidate Denny Hoskins were sued for defamation when they accused a man on social media of being an illegal immigrant involved in the Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl parade shooting.
Despite the vitriol, multiple studies investigating the relationship between undocumented immigration and crime have not shown an uptick in crime.
A 2018 , a libertarian think tank, determined that unauthorized immigrants in Texas committed fewer crimes than their native-born counterparts. Another Cato study found that .