As many may know, at the San Ysidro border thousands of Central American immigrants have began to attempt crossing the border into the US in search of Asylum. The government reacted in quite a controversial way, by letting tear gas out into the air. Many people are considering it as a "War crime" while others believe that it was done in defense as apart of the standard procedure. It is in fact legal for riot control as it is a nonlethal force, but is it moral? Many have began to question. Considering that the people crossing the borders are families with tiny innocent children of all ages, to make them suffer is extremely inhumane.Outrage was sparked particularly by the hear-rending images of women and children fleeing the tear gas attack. But, some have began to ask "Why these parents would willfully expose a child to all of the potential harm. Perhaps the parents could have known this could happen again, rushing to the U.S. border was obviously asking for trouble" writes a reporter. Sources say that this is a manipulation tactic that has been used throughout history to get their desired affect : In this case crossing the border successfully. The agents claim they were being assaulted as water bottles and rocks were being thrown at them, and in response they used this weapon in defense. Tear gas is a type of riot control agent and considered a chemical weapon only if used as a method of warfare, and the US is one of the 193 parties that are committed to the convention that abides by this. As we know, the Michael Brown case caused a bunch of riots, and tear gas in this case was used that sparked controversy as well. But when children are in the area, to do this puts children's health at high risk. When children inhale this toxin, considering the size of their lungs their injury is much higher than the adults around them. Children's vulnerability to a number of lung diseases rises affecting their long term health. So, why did border patrols think this was ever ok to do such a thing?
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| Maria Lila Meza Castro, a 39-year-old migrant woman from Honduras, runs from tear gas with her twin daughters in front of the border wall between the U.S. and Mexico, in Tijuana, on Nov. 25. |
In the picture, there are families with children all around. It is really scary to see that the governments workers are doing this to families and children. Even if there were no children at the border when tear gas was released, rocks and water bottles are relatively harmless. The border patrol agents could have used different methods to calm a crowd than to immediately begin a life-threatening attack. To answer your final question, maybe one reason they felt that it was justified to launch this kind of attack was due to the way that the media and President Trump has been discussing the caravan and the increased attempts to cross the border. Trump has spoken of militarizing the border in order to stop immigrants, and it was possibly this that made the border agents think that any means necessary was OK to use on the immigrants and their families.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what is said in this post. The children are not doing anything to harm us so it makes sense to question why are throwing tear gas towards them. Another thing to think about is how to distinguish the actually bad people compared to the ones who are not trying to sneak into the country or such. I feel that the tear gas is a long approach especially with young children around and instead there needs to be a more peaceful way to communicate with those who are trying to enter our country illegally
ReplyDeleteIt seems that the common agree that using tear gas against adults is acceptable given the circumstance, however using it against children is immoral. However, in crowds of families, you can't just pick and choose. Parents are choosing to committ the illegal act of crossing the border to have a better life for their families. However, at the same time, they have to realize that they are inherently putting their family in danger by comitting this illegal act. While I dont condone the use of tear gas in this situation, it may hamper the migration of other illegal immigrants, which is what the US government is going for. Should we stop using tear gas in crowds that have children? Yes. Should we prevent illegal immigration? Probably.
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