Missouri House speaker forms committee to look into illegal immigrant crimes

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri House Speaker Dean Plocher held a news conference Tuesday on the formation of the new special interim committee on Illegal Immigrant Crimes.

Its purpose, as stated by Committee Chair Rep. Lane Roberts (R-Joplin), is to identify the extent of crimes committed by people living in Missouri illegally and determine solutions to the problem.

"This is first and foremost about crime," Roberts said. "What do we do to protect the Missouri citizen and particularly how it relates to illegal immigration. That's the nexus."

Data provided by the House shows there were 1,713 homicide-related offenses by noncitizens in the U.S. in 2023. This is up from 1,501 in 2022, but still down compared to 1,837 in 2020.

While Republicans say the committee will work to keep Missourians safe, Democrats, including Columbia Rep. David Tyson Smith, say the committee is a waste of time.

"I think it's a waste of time. I think it's a waste of resources," Tyson Smith said. "We don't need this committee. It's just designed for political talking points to keep illegal immigration in the air."

Tyson Smith said this is a problem that is not seen in Missouri.

"If we are really serious about these issues, we would form a special committee on gun violence to crack down on the shootings that are happening all over our state," he said.

However, committee members said people living in the state illegally are responsible for bringing in fentanyl and an increase in sex trafficking.

"This committee is absolutely going to be looking at a variety of crimes, sex trafficking being one of those," Rep. Lisa Thomas (R-Lake Ozark) said. "It has absolutely increased because of our open borders."

2020 data from the American Immigration Council said around 35,000 Missouri residents live with at least one family member who is undocumented.

But, the Cato Institute reports immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than natural-born citizens.

"Illegal immigration tends to be a more violent type of crime," Roberts said. "So, while that number may not be as big as some other group, nonetheless, it has a disproportionate impact."

A press release referenced three recent crimes involving people in Missouri illegally -- including people from Mexico and Honduras -- who were found in Missouri with a 14-year-old girl in Indiana in June who was reported missing. It also mentioned a man who stabbed two people in O'Fallon, Missouri, in March, and a deadly car crash by a woman in March.

"The message needs to be, if you're not here in the State of Missouri legally, you're going to be detained and you're going to be deported if you're committing crimes," Plocher said.

When asked if the state has the legal authority to deport people, Plocher said that is something the committee will be looking into.

Roberts said there will be a total of six hearings across the state in the course of 60 days. During this time, the committee is looking to hear from law enforcement about their experience with crimes related to illegal immigration.

Roberts said the first committee hearing will be on July 11 in Jefferson City.