Colorado’s federal lawmakers are divided about whether it was appropriate for U.S Customs and Border Protection agents to use tear gas Sunday on a group of Central American migrants who were headed toward a border crossing that leads into San Diego.
“I’m concerned about foreign nationals trying to illegally enter our country,” Rep. Ken Buck, R-Windsor, said. “I’m proud that American forces responded to violence with restraint, using non-lethal force.”
Buck’s statement echoed the comments of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and other Trump administration officials, who said one of the nation’s busiest border crossings was shut down for several hours Sunday to ensure public safety after some migrants started throwing “projectiles” at border personnel.
The Democratic members of Colorado’s federal delegation saw the use of tear gas differently.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, called the decision shocking and alarming.
“Any professional organization should be able to tell the difference between threatening crowds and unarmed men, women, and children seeking asylum and respond accordingly,” DeGette said in a statement. “I join my colleagues in demanding answers to how tear gas came to be fired across an international border at vulnerable crowds of civilians, and we must learn what policies and directives from senior officials are guiding the actions of personnel at the border.”
The people waiting to make their cases for asylum at the San Ysidro border crossing told reporters from the Associated Press that the small number of people processed each day by U.S. officials and deteriorating conditions at temporary camps set up for them in Mexico have led to rising tensions and frustrations.
Rep. Ed Perlmutter,D-Arvada, said in a statement that it’s all part of what he calls a “disgraceful manner” displayed by the Trump administration toward people seeking to immigrate to the United States.
“First they separated children from their families and took steps to militarize the border. Now we see them trying to prevent legitimate asylum seekers from getting to the border at all,” Perlmutter said. “These terrible policies and actions continue to make the case for comprehensive immigration reform that includes border security and an earned pathway to citizenship while ensuring all immigrants are treated with the respect and dignity that aligns with traditional U.S. morals and values.”