US Border Patrol Fires Tear Gas at Asylum Seekers
- Abby Cochran
- Dec 15, 2018
- 2 min read
As many people are aware of, there has been a migrant caravan starting in Honduras and it has traveled all the way up the American-Mexican border. Along the way, many have joined along in their efforts to reach the border. Beginning with just hundreds and growing to numbers rumored at over seven thousand, many in the United States are worried about the possible impact of this many people trying to come into our country.
This worry has turned into panic, causing our border control to use controversial means to prevent the entry of these people. There was tear gas throw on people who were peacefully standing just outside the border. The photographs of the women and children affected by the suffocating gas are heartbreaking, even possibly illegal. According to a professor of human rights and humanitarian law, countries do have the right to protect their borders, however “that doesn’t give authorities in the United States the right to fire tear gas into another country.”(Geoff Gilbert). But such terrible circumstances are not new to the many seeking asylum. On their trek to the States, surviving the travel was seen as their only way into a place they believe will offer hope and safety. These people are fleeing from poverty, starvation, and extraordinarily high murder rates in the places they call home, but that begs the question, do we grant them asylum? It is no doubt that the quality of life for those in the caravan is not one of luxury, but where is the line between granting asylum and poor border control? In order to be granted asylum in the US, you must be fleeing persecution, but where the discrepancies occur is the definition of persecution. Is a high murder rate enough to call it persecution on the groups of race, religion, political opinion, social group or nationality? Or how about extreme poverty? This is the core of whether or not we should let these people in. But in any case, a peaceful protest should never be tear gassed— freedom of assembly is a hugely important freedom listing in our constitution, what does it mean if we punish those following our constitution, especially if they aren't even on our grounds?
References
Asylum Application: USA Law, Qualifications, and Requirements. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.politicalasylumusa.com/application-for-asylum/
Correal, A., & Specia, M. (2018, October 26). The Migrant Caravan: What to Know About the Thousands Traveling North. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/26/world/americas/what-is-migrant-caravan-facts-history.html
How to Seek Asylum in USA. (2015, December 10). Retrieved from https://www.immi-usa.com/how-to-seek-asylum-in-usa/
Specia, M., & Gladstone, R. (2018, November 28). Border Agents Shot Tear Gas Into Mexico. Was It Legal? Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/28/world/americas/tear-gas-border.html
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