A group of migrant families say they came under fire from the Texas National Guard shooting at them with pepper balls on the U.S.-Mexico border in El Paso, Texas.
On Tuesday, a guardsman aimed and fired at least one pepper-spray projectile, also known as a pepper ball or pellet, in the direction of multiple migrants who fled to bushes for cover along the Rio Grande, according to video taken by Border Report .
Venezuelans Denise and Antonio told Border Report how they tried to protect their one-year-old daughter with a piece of cardboard placed between two shrubs on the Mexican side of the river. Antonio said they were “afraid” for their child.
Another Venezuelan migrant identified as Kennedy made a similar defense for his family of eight. “This is to protect them if (the soldiers) fire from over there,” he told Border Report. “They fired and nobody was crossing.”
Many migrants at the border in El Paso attempt to cross the border into the U.S. illegally. The Texas National Guard has been deployed to the area to prevent their crossing.
Border Patrol agents utilize modified paintball guns called “pepper ball launching systems” that shoot small non-lethal plastic balls that contain pepper-spray powder. The guns, similar to ordinary paintball guns, tend to lack accuracy and can often miss the target.
Newsweek reached out to the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) via email for comment.
Migrants attempt to enter the U.S. along the Rio Grande River. On May 28, migrants were reportedly taking cover from pepper-spray bullets fired by guardsmen.
HERIKA MARTINEZ/AFP via Getty Images
A photographer on the scene named Francisco Servin, who takes pictures for the Mexican publication El Heraldo de Juarez, said he was trying to record the scene of undocumented migrants when he was also purportedly targeted by Texas guards.
“When I got here people asked me to go down (to the river) because they had been attacked by U.S. authorities,” Servin said, according to Border Report. “I found a member of the National Guard pointing and shooting toward the Mexican side where the people were. When they see me, the officer points at me and shoots twice without striking me.”
The area is ripe for illegal crossings, and has been a source of consternation for Texas officials who have attempted to thwart undocumented entrants. That has included placing concertina wire along the border and near the river, in addition to the state attempting to enforce its own immigration-related protocols through legislation known as Senate Bill 4 (S.B. 4).
Last week, the DPS posted video “showing rocks, sand and water bottles” being thrown at the southern border wall.
It was a smaller skirmish than one in March, when border patrol agents were inundated with a throng of illegal migrants who attempted to “overrun” U.S. officers and were eventually taken into custody.
Update 5/30/2024 at 1:10 p.m. ET: This article’s headline has been updated for clarity.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.