CIUDAD JUÁREZ — National Guard members on the Texas-Mexico border have added pepper ball guns to their arsenal, firing at migrants who are gathering on the U.S.
A Texas National Guard soldier holding a pepper ball launcher monitors the concertina wire along the border in El Paso that migrants must cross to surrender to Border Patrol in El Paso, on June 1, 2024. CIUDAD JUÁREZ — National Guard members on the Texas-Mexico border have added pepper ball guns to their arsenal, firing at migrants who are gathering on the U.S. side of the Rio Grande or trying to break through the tangle of concertina wire strung along the border.
"We've had some instances where we have caught migrants or members of the cartel cutting the c-wire and trying to send people through," Spc. Aiden Hogan says in the video, referring to the concertina wire the state has deployed along parts of the border. He doesn’t say how they identify the targets as members of cartels. "We've been able to send them back with deploying the pepper ball launcher.
A migrant woman, who declined to be identified out of fear that soldiers would retaliate against her, shared a video of the aftermath that showed her coughing while her daughter held onto her, while a boy standing nearby has red streaks on his face. The woman said one of the projectiles hit her daughter in the head.
Gil Kerlikowske, former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection who oversaw the implementation of the same technology at the agency amid scrutiny over agents’ use of force, said the pepper balls can do serious damage to people. Kerlikowske, who has also led police departments in Seattle, Buffalo and Florida, said police officers are “not going to use tear gas without having emergency medical personnel standing by available to help someone” if they are injured.
“We specifically train them: Do not shoot directly at an individual because if hit in the wrong place, it can cause serious bodily injury,” Suelzer testified. But among advocates and people who work with migrants along the border, the use of force is alarming. Elmore said he had not witnessed Guard members shooting at migrants or pushing them into the dry riverbank, as migrants have claimed over the last two months, but that the injuries he’s helped treat were consistent with those that would be caused by such use of force.Adam Isacson, a regional security expert at the Washington Office on Latin America, said he is concerned the National Guard is keeping out people who are seeking safety and violating the due process for asylum seekers.
Rodolfo Rubio Salas, an immigration professor at El Colegio de Chihuahua in Ciudad Juárez, said the Mexican government needs to investigate the Texas National Guard’s tactics. He added that Mexican journalists and advocacy groups have reported cases of migrants being injured but the Mexican government hasn’t done anything about it.
Migrants Pepper Balls Border Operation Lone Star Concertina Wire Rio Grande Escalation
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Texas National Guard is shooting pepper balls to deter migrants at the borderSign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Read more »
Texas National Guard is shooting pepper balls to deter migrants at the borderSign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
Read more »
Texas National Guard is shooting pepper balls to deter migrants at the borderMigrants in Mexico said they’ve been shot by the rounds, which leave bruises and disperse a chemical irritant. The state says Guard members are trained not to aim directly at people.
Read more »
Texas National Guard is shooting pepper balls to deter migrants at the borderMigrants in Mexico said they’ve been shot by the rounds, which leave bruises and disperse a chemical irritant. The state says Guard members are trained not to aim directly at people.
Read more »
First Texas National Guard troops move into new Eagle Pass baseGov. Greg Abbott inaugurated the base, which will be able to house at least 1,800 troops when construction is finished.
Read more »
Drowning of Women, Two Children Intensify Disgust Over Illegal Border Operations by Texas National GuardJon Queally is managing editor of Common Dreams.
Read more »