Friday, July 18, 2025

US border agents repel migrants with tear gas after attempt to cross illegally

Another attempt by migrants to cross from Mexico into the United States was repelled by U.S. border patrol agents yesterday who fired tear gas over the border.

About 150 Central American migrants, described by a U.S. official as a “violent mob,” tried to cross illegally shortly after midnight near Tijuana, where several thousand migrants have been camping since arriving in Mexico in October and November.

The U.S. said its security forces fired tear gas after migrants threw rocks, but the Associated Press reported that rocks were not thrown until after the tear gas was fired. A report by Reuters said one migrant was struck by a tear gas canister.

About 10 children, bundled in blankets and heavy jackets, were passed over the razor wire-topped border fence, witnesses said.

But U.S. authorities said of the 25 people detained only two were minors.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Katie Waldman said “a violent mob of migrants” had attempted to enter the U.S. illegally “by attacking our agents with projectiles . . . our personnel used the minimum force necessary to defend themselves, defend our border and restore order.”

She said once agents had thwarted the attempt to cross, “the mob began pushing women and minors to the front, forcing minors to climb dangerous concertina wire, and encouraged conveniently invited media to begin filming their illegal acts.”

Waldman criticized the U.S. Congress for ignoring “the professional advice from the men and women of the Border Patrol who have told them that walls work. Congress needs to fully fund the border wall . . . .”

In November, U.S. agents used tear gas to thwart an attempt by migrants to cross the border illegally and closed the border between Tijuana and San Diego for six hours.

Source: BBC News (en), El Sol de Tijuana (sp), NPR (en)

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
A man stands by an open suitcase in an airport revision area

Foreign national caught with over a million pesos of ketamine in Cancún airport

0
Officials confiscated 2 kilograms of ketamine, a controlled substance in Mexico.
two people walkin gby a for rent sign

Can rent control stop gentrification? Mexico City officials plan to find out

9
Political leaders in the nation's capital have reached into their anti-gentrification toolkit and come up with an approach that goes straight to the heart of the problem.
cell phone with Uber

Mexican authorities slam Uber’s price hike: ‘Unilateral and irresponsible’

2
The ride-hailing app insists that the rise is necessary after recent labor reforms gave its drivers full employee rights, including IMSS membership.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity