(NewsNation) — Migrants say they have been shot at with pepper balls by Texas National Guard members stationed at the southern border.
These pepper ball guns being used are considered to be “non-lethal,” and shoot out a chemical meant to irritate people’s noses, eyes and throats. While the state says they aren’t supposed to be shot directly at people, some migrants told The Texas Tribune they’ve been hit by the balls, which can leave welts and bruises.
“When they get to the border, and they’re met with this harsh enforcement, with this harsh treatment where they’re being shot with pepper balls, it doesn’t only stain the values that our country has, our values (that) have been built by immigrants, but it’s also stepping on the human and constitutional rights of these people,” Alan Lizarraga, communications director for the Border Network for Human Rights, said in an interview with NewsNation.
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that every tool and strategy is going to be used in response to the “ongoing border crisis” as part of the state’s border initiative, called Operation Lone Star.
“Under our historic border mission, Texas has allocated more than $11 billion of Texas taxpayer money to secure the border, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and (Department of Public Safety) troopers, setting up a military base on the border, installing strategic barriers and building our own border wall,” the statement said.
What are pepper balls?
Pepper balls, mainly used to disperse crowds, resemble paintballs and are filled with oleoresin capsicum, which is derived from peppers. According to The Texas Tribune, pepper ball guns used by the state’s National Guard are powered by a carbon dioxide cartridge and can hold about 180 rounds.
The news outlet reported on an incident from an early morning in May when National Guard soldiers on the American side of the border fired pepper balls toward a few hundred migrants sleeping on the Mexican side of the Rio Grande. One migrant woman shared a video with The Texas Tribune of her coughing while her daughter held onto her, telling reporters that one of the projectiles hit the girl in the head. A 46-year-old from Colombia showed The Texas Tribune small bruises near his elbow and hand, which he said were caused by the pepper balls.
A former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection told the Texas Tribune that these pepper balls can do serious damage.
“They’re not really non-lethal,” Gil Kerlikowske said. “No one should just write this off as an irritant. They can be very dangerous.”
Right after being exposed to the kind of gas used in pepper balls, people may experience excessive tearing, blurred vision and redness in their eyes; a runny, burning or swelling nose; irritation in their mouth; as well as difficulty swallowing and drooling, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention wrote. People may also feel tightness in their chest, experience a choking sensation, coughing, nausea and vomiting.
Immigration advocates say using pepper balls is dangerous, but border officials say the use of force is in response to heightened aggression they’ve seen, and that migrants are cutting concertina wire they put up in the area.
Operation Lone Star
Abbott launched Operation Lone Star in 2021, sending the Texas National Guard and DPS to the border in an attempt to deter unlawful border crossings.
With Operation Lone Star, Texas has spent $11 million to install thousands of concertina wire rolls along the Rio Grande, made more than 44,000 arrests, and sent migrants to “sanctuary cities” across the country. At least 18 states have sent upwards of 2,400 soldiers to the Texas border to assist the state in these efforts.
Operation Lone Star has gotten support from GOP leaders, though it has also garnered opposition from lawmakers who say Abbott overstepped his powers and that the government has acted inhumanely.
NewsNation digital reporter Safia Samee Ali contributed to this report.