The chemicals blew through the air, sometimes for blocks. They seeped into bedrooms, forcing an asthmatic teen to gasp for air. They stuck to the skin of a young girl, who cried, “It burns!” They caused an infant to stop breathing.
ProPublica identified 79 children across the country who have been harmed by tear gas or pepper spray as immigration officers dramatically stepped up their use during President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
The Department of Homeland Security has repeatedly defended its use of the chemicals, asserting its agents aren’t to blame. The fault, a spokesperson said, lies with “agitators” in the crowds and parents who put their children in harm’s way.
But videos reveal the way agents use these weapons. One captures them releasing tear gas into a crowd with at least seven kids just before someone yells, “There’s children here.” Another shows them hurling tear gas canisters at protesters without apparent provocation; then, with the streets already flooded with white smoke, a Customs and Border Protection agent wearing a body camera shoots pepper balls before muttering, “Fuck yeah,” and shouting, “Woo!”
Keep this in mind every time you hear someone say that something is “to protect the children.”
You know what is incredibly easy to do to protect the children? Don’t fucking pepper spray and tear gas them. It’s so easy to do that I’ve been doing it my entire life without even trying.
Keep this in mind every time you hear someone say that something is “to protect the children.”
I mean, I do hear “protect the children” a lot coming from folks protesting the ICE detention camps. They just don’t ever seem to affect public policy in the same way as the folks doggedly insisting we need to give heavier weapons to the Gestapo.
