US Gassing Children in Mexico in Name of Security 'Insane, Illegal' - Migrant Rights Group

NEW YORK (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2018) US border agents using tear gas against thousands of peaceful migrant families under the pretext of national security violates the law and is not sane, New York Immigration Coalition Executive Director Steven Choi said in a press release on Monday.

On Sunday, a group of around 500 migrants attempted to storm the US border from the Mexican city of Tijuana. The US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) service said that several asylum-seekers had thrown projectiles, which prompted US authorities to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.

"Gassing babies in the name of national security is insane and illegal," Choi added.

"It's absolutely horrifying to watch our country prove its strength by punching down at families and children fleeing violence."

Last week a caravan of about 5,600 asylum-seeking migrants from poor Central American countries reached the cities of Tijuana and Mexicali near the US border.

US authorities have deployed several thousand troops to prevent the caravan from crossing the border while President Donald Trump called for closing parts of it. On Monday, Trump told reporters US border agents had to use tear gas because they were rushed by members of the caravan.