U.S. Border Patrol have come under fire from the left for using tear gas on Sunday afternoon to defend themselves after hundreds of members of the migrant caravan attempted to rush the U.S. border near San Diego, while hurling rocks and projectiles at border officials.
Senator Dianne Feinstein of California called the use of tear gas “horrifying.” Senator Brian Schatz of Hawaii compared the use of tear gas to “chemical weapons.” Actress Alyssa Milano issued a foul twitter tirade against President Trump over the gas.
It turns out that the Obama Administration also used tear gas and pepper spray at the border, over 500 times from 2012-2016. However, liberals remained silent during that time.
According to numbers given to the Daily Caller by the Department of Homeland Security, tear gas was used by border agents 79 times between 2012 and 2016. Meanwhile, pepper spray was used 434 times between 2012 and 2016.
Both President Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen defended Border Patrol’s use of tear gas.
“They were being rushed by some very tough people and they used tear gas,” said the President on Monday. “Here’s the bottom line: Nobody is coming into our country unless they come in legally.”
Nielsen slammed the migrants for hurling rocks and projectiles at border agents. In a statement, she said, “This caravan, unlike previous caravans, had already entered Mexico violently and attacked border police in two other countries. I refuse to believe that anyone honestly maintains that attacking law enforcement with rocks and projectiles is acceptable. It is shocking that I have to explain this, but officers can be seriously or fatally injured in such attacks. Self-defense isn’t debatable for most law-abiding Americans.”
Nielsen also stated that the small number of women and children involved in the caravan were being used as “human shields” in confrontations with law enforcement.
“The caravan members are predominately male,” she said. “It appears in some cases that the limited number of women and children in the caravan are being used by the organizers as ‘human shields’ when they confront law enforcement. They are being put at risk by the caravan organizers as we saw at the Mexico-Guatemala border. This is putting vulnerable people in harms way.”
Senator Lindsey Graham addressed the Obama Administration’s use of tear gas last night on Fox News’ Hannity, and pointed out the clear double standard in the outrage from the left.
“How long does it take you to figure this out? When it comes to Obama, when he uses tear gas, he is protecting the country. The narrative is that Trump is a cruel, heartless bastard, only works if he uses tear gas on kids, and it undercuts the argument that if the Obama Administration used tear gas to protect our border from being overrun,” said the Senator.
He continued, “I stand behind the men and women on the border standing between us and people who want to cross illegally. When you are slamming the tear gas, you are slamming the people we put on the border to protect us. That’s what disgusts me the most.”
