Missouri’s House Speaker has named a former Missouri Department of Public Safety (DPS) director as the chair of a new House committee that will investigate crimes by alleged illegal immigrants.
House Speaker Dean Plocher (R-Des Peres) has called a press conference for 11 o’clock this (Tuesday) morning in Jefferson City, where he’ll announce the formation of a new House Special Committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes. Speaker Plocher and committee chairman Lane Roberts, who is also a former Joplin police chief, will brief the Capitol Press Corps. Speaker Plocher says the committee will work closely with law enforcement agencies to assess criminal activities involving alleged illegal immigrants in Missouri, as well as propose solutions.
939 the Eagle’s Mike Murphy reports that in late June, five men believed to be illegal immigrants were captured in northern Missouri’s Macon County with a 14-year-old runaway from Indiana. Police say they were allegedly trafficking her to California. Murphy reports the five suspects are from Mexico and Honduras and are charged and jailed.
Meantime, the southern border is one of the main campaign issues for a former GOP state senator from Lake St. Louis who is running to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-St. Elizabeth) on Capitol Hill. Former State Sen. Bob Onder (R-Lake St. Louis) is one of seven Republicans running in the August primary. Onder tells 939 the Eagle that he’s worried about fentanyl and other issues:
“Because not only is that a security issue with the crime brought on by illegal aliens, but it’s also an economic issue, the economic burden of 10 million illegal aliens in our country. The burden in terms of 100,000 fentanyl poisonings since (President) Joe Biden took office. Human trafficking at an all-time high,” Senator Onder told 939 the Eagle last week at a presidential debate watch party at Lakeside Ashland.
Onder faces former State Sen. Kurt Schaefer (R-Columbia), State Rep. Justin Hicks (R-Lake St. Louis) and four others in the August GOP primary. The winner will face one of two Democrats who are running: Bethany Mann of Wentzville and Andrew Daly of Fulton. Congressman Luetkemeyer is retiring after serving eight terms on Capitol Hill.