 |
|
|
 News from Around the Americas | December 2007 
Border Agents Firing Tear Gas Into Mexico
 NBC San Diego
go to original
| | A cross hangs on the U.S. - Mexico border wall in Tijuana, Mexico. A bill drafted by a bipartisan group in Congress and backed by the White House calls for tightening border security, granting legal status to nearly all estimated 12 million undocumented workers, and increasing penalties for employers who hire illegal workers on the United States. the border. (AP Photo/David Maung) |
San Diego - Border Patrol agents have begun to fire pepper spray and tear gas into thickly settled Mexican border neighborhoods.
Officials said that escalating violence at the U.S.-Mexico border is forcing agents to take new measures, and the new tactics are creating controversy. Since October 1, there have been 90 assaults against Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area, according to officials, an increase of 500 percent from the same period a year ago.
The violence is most common just east of the San Ysidro port of entry along a 2-mile stretch of border. The area, which is called Colonia Libertad, is one of most densely populated neighborhoods pushing up against the border. Several U.S. Border Patrol agents have reported rock-throwing incidents in the area.
Although the use of pepper spray by border agents is not new, the Los Angeles Times reported, the procedure of targeting areas rather than individuals is.
Witnesses told the paper that the incidents have prompted evacuations. Some people living in the area had to go to hospitals for treatment, witnesses told the Times.
Ricardo Pineda, who is the acting Mexican consul general in San Diego, has protested the aggressive use of tear gas and pepper spray.
"We told them the Mexican government cannot tolerate having Mexican nationals hit with these kind of devices on Mexican soil by U.S. authorities, regardless of the reason," consular spokesman Alberto Lozano told the paper.
The Border Patrol is considering adding barbed wire along the section of the border where Colonia Libertad is located. That is an option that has been considered previously but not implemented. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us