ST. LOUIS—There are no immediate plans for Missouri National Guard troops to head to Texas to support that state’s governor in a standoff with the Biden administration over immigration enforcement, Gov. Parson’s office said Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last fall declared an "invasion" at the border with Texas and did so again this week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. Border Patrol could cut razor wire put up by Texas authorities along the Rio Grande River

  • Missouri Gov. Mike Parson joined 24 other governors in a letter showing support for Abbott and the right for Texas to defend itself

  • Parson's office said Friday there were no immediate plans to deploy the state's National Guard troops to support Texas authorities

  • Roughly 250 members of two Missouri National Guard units based in Festus and Harrisonville are currently deployed there as part of a federal request to assist Border Patrol and Customs Enforcement agents

Parson this week joined governors from 24 other states in a letter stating support for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott who is claiming the state has a right of self-defense. But that support falls short of putting troops on the ground to specifically help him. Two Missouri National Guard units are currently deployed in Texas to help Border Patrol law enforcement.

Missouri lawmakers have been vocal on social media this week in their support for Texas, and State Sen. Mary Elizabeth Coleman, R-Arnold, has introduced a Senate Concurrent Resolution calling on Parson to specifically task the Missouri National Guard to aid Texas officials “in the protection of the borders of the United States and to take such action and employ such equipment as may be necessary in support of security and law enforcement authorities in the defense of the border of United States;”

A spokesperson for Parson told Spectrum News Friday that no additional action was being announced.

Missouri National Guard Maj. General Lavon Cumpton gave members of a House subcommittee on appropriations a brief update on the status of the Guard’s involvement on the border during a December hearing.

“Your Missouri Guardsmen, these citizen-soldiers provide mission enhancing support to CBP’s Border Security Operations to enable CBP agents to conduct law enforcement missions more effciently,” he said. 

State Rep. Bill Owen, the subcommittee chair, reminded House members of Cumpton’s testimony in an email blast Friday.

There has been talk among other lawmakers of asking for a briefing about the National Guard’s deployment, State Rep. Adam Schnelting, R-St. Charles, and Chair of the House Special Committee on Homeland Security told Spectrum News Friday.

A National Guard spokesperson confirmed Friday that roughly 250 members of two units--the 220th Engineer Company from Festus and the 1251st Transportation Company from Harrisonville are working under the U.S. Northern Command and Joint Task Force North.

Missouri units were deployed in 2018 to the Arizona border with Mexico as part of a call-up authorized during the Trump administration that also supported U.S. Customs and Border Patrol enforcement.

This week, Trump urged states to send to send Guard units to help Texas, saying Gov. Abbott had “rightly invoked the Invasion Clause of the Constitution.” This refers to an interpretation of the Constitution that posits that the federal government was created by the states through a compact, so the states are the final judges of whether the federal government has overstepped its authority. This theory has been rejected by the Supreme Court in multiple cases, the earliest being in 1793, and it was argued frequently in the lead up to the Civil War as reasoning for seceding. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis also argued for the compact theory in a post on X Wednesday.

“If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said. 

He went on to say that he will “keep assisting Texas with personnel and assets.”

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a Republican governor who signed the same letter Parson did, indicated in an interview with FOX News Friday morning that he supported sending that state’s National Guard troops to Texas.