Several Administrations Used Tear Gas at the Border
On Nov. 25, tens of thousands of Central American migrants traveling within a so-called aide tried to unlawfully cross from Mexico into the USA at the port of entry between Tijuana and San Diego. U.S. Customs and Border Protection said a few of them attempted to enter through vehicle lanes or fencing along the boundary.
CBP Commissioner Kevin McAleenan told reporters on Nov. 26 that members of this group”became assaultive,” throwing”stones and other projectiles” at national agents policing the border. Subsequently, “Border Patrol agents deployed tear gas to dispel the group due to the danger to agents’ security,” CBP clarified on Twitter.
That wasn’t the first time that border agents have used tear gas from a group of migrants.
Statistics CBP emailed to FactCheck.org reveal that, from fiscal years 2012 to 2018, border agents used the chemical compound 2-chlorobenzene line malononitrile (CS), which is usually known as tear gas, in 126 events. 79 happened under President Barack Obama during the five fiscal years. That is a little over one episode per month from 2012. We were sent yearly, not monthly amounts by CBP.
News reports also indicate that tear gas was used in events during the administrations of Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush.
However, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders specifically mentioned Obama through a Nov. 27 press briefing, where she answered a query about a photograph revealing a Honduran woman and two kids running out of a tear gas canister that landed near them on Nov. 25.
“Surely the White House would not want kids to be in harm’s way in any capacity whatsoever,” Sanders said. “However, that’s the reason we are continuing to encourage people to adhere to the law and proceed to ports of entry.”
She added: “And let us remember that this is not the first time that non-lethal force similar to this has been utilized. Tear gas was used throughout the Obama government for conditions that were similar once a month on average. In actuality, they were really for much fewer circumstances, since they did not have the exact numbers in the mass rush that we are seeing in this caravan happen”
Readers have continued to ask us.
We all know that CBP used gas under Obama, as Sanders said. What we do not know are the conditions of every case. Without going into any detail about the events, A CBP spokesperson supplied the amounts to us.
In a single 2013 event, United Press International reported: “Border guards used tear gas on a crowd of people in the U.S.-Mexico border in Tijuana and a few in the crowd threw bottles and rocks, video of the melee shows.” According to the Nov. 26, 2013, post, “The video, broadcast on Milenio Television, reveals a bunch of well over 100 people walking across the boundary fence before coming face to face with border guards at a confrontation which occurred Sunday as the crowd attempted to cross the Tijuana River to the USA.”
We were told by the CBP spokesperson that the agency was using gas but didn’t supply data for years.
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When we searched the Nexis news database, we found reports of tear gas being used before Obama’s and Trump’s during administrations. For example:
In April 1980, under President Carter, the Associated Press reported that extra border agents were needed in San Ysidro, California,” after representatives wearing riot gear used tear gas to disperse an estimated 500 illegal aliens over the weekend, police said.” The migrants” allegedly pelted waiting for agents with stones,” causing the agents to use”seven canisters of tear gas to drive back the aliens to the south levee.”
In September 1986, under President Reagan, the Los Angeles Times reported that Border Patrol Supervisor Armand Olvera said that a border agent was”hit in the head with a stone” when”150 to 200 aliens filled’ that the levee” at San Ysidro. “Despite the blood which was flowing from his mind, Agent Ruiz was able to fire one tear gas around and threw one canister and the audience dispersed,” Olvera was quoted as telling the Times. The story also noted, “Between Jan. 12 and Sept. 4, representatives had to use tear gas on 35 occasions to disperse hostile groups of aliens, Olvera said.”
And in December 2007, under President Bush, the AP reported that”Border Patrol agents are shooting tear gas and potent pepper-spray weapons across the border into Mexico to repel what the agency says is a growing number of strikes by assailants hurling stones, bricks and bottles.” Agents were assaulted 987 times the story said.
Besides split gas, the CBP spokesperson told us that the agency still”frequently uses Pava Capsaicin,” or pepper spray. Border agents utilized it in 540 events from fiscal years 2012 to 2018, and 434 (or 80 percent) of these were during the five complete fiscal years under Obama.
The use of pepper spray or tear gas isn’t exclusive to Obama or Trump.
Facts Check: True
