Here’s what Mass. politicians are saying about tear gas being fired at migrants at the border
Bay State politicians reacted sharply to the images of women and children running away from the gas fired by U.S. border agents.
Massachusetts politicians have reacted with horror and condemnation to the photos of migrant women and children fleeing from tear gas fired by U.S. border agents near Tijuana, Mexico, on Sunday. The New York Times reports that what started as a peaceful march by Central American migrants waiting at the border devolved when a group rushed the crossing into the United States. In response, the Customs and Border Protection agency shut down the border and fired the tear gas to push migrants back from the fence. Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a statement that border officers were struck by thrown projectiles.
Today @CBP personnel were struck by projectiles thrown by caravan members. Such actions are dangerous & not consistent w peacefully seeking asylum. The perpetrators will be prosecuted. I will continue to aggressively support DHS personnel as they work to safely secure our border.
— Secretary Kirstjen M. Nielsen (@SecNielsen) November 26, 2018
According to the Times, the border crossing reopened Sunday night.
Photos of migrants fleeing the gas, taken by Reuters photographer Kim Kyung-Hoon, sparked outrage on social media.
Rep. Jim McGovern called the situation “horrific.”
“Reasonable people can disagree on immigration policy. There can be no disagreement when it comes to firing tear gas on innocent families. It is wrong,” he wrote on Twitter.
Here’s what Bay State politicians are saying about the situation:
Rep.-elect Ayanna Pressley
I can’t look away from this photo. Families who have desperately fled violence and persecution. To be met with violence and hate at our borders as they peacefully seek asylum is unconscionable and unAmerican. We will not stand for this. https://t.co/rVxDTTNwTz
— Ayanna Pressley (@AyannaPressley) November 26, 2018
Somerville Mayor Joseph Curtatone
The question facing us is what level of barbarity are we willing to accept? We’ve kidnapped children. Now we’re firing tear gas at children. We have an administration wrapping itself in the flag and committing horrors.https://t.co/Mn0G8u7TMa
— Joseph A. Curtatone (@JoeCurtatone) November 26, 2018
Rep. Katherine Clark
Attacking children and families seems to be at the “heart” of Trump’s immigration agenda. #Familyseparation and now tear gas. What we need is (compassionate) comprehensive immigration reform, @realDonaldTrump— not battlefield tactics. https://t.co/wYrVCw2RBC
— Katherine Clark (@WhipKClark) November 26, 2018
Rep. Jim McGovern
This is horrific. Mothers, fathers & children legally seeking asylum – and this is how they are treated. Reasonable people can disagree on immigration policy. There can be no disagreement when it comes to firing tear gas on innocent families. It is wrong. https://t.co/Y0tBG5X1K6
— Rep. Jim McGovern (@RepMcGovern) November 26, 2018
Rep. Joe Kennedy
In this country we meet asylum seekers with our laws, not our weapons. https://t.co/bYNcpGXhdi
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) November 26, 2018
The terrified children and families in these photos aren’t just caught in the crossfire of @realDonaldTrump’s immigration policies. They are the targets of @realDonaldTrump’s immigration policies. That’s the point. https://t.co/Q2tHzALJtp
— Joe Kennedy III (@joekennedy) November 26, 2018
Rep. Bill Keating
Applying for asylum is not a crime. It is time to act like an independent congress and pass comprehensive immigration reform. https://t.co/S7DxCeVno6
— Congressman Bill Keating (@USRepKeating) November 26, 2018
Sen. Elizabeth Warren
Mothers and their children walked hundreds of miles and fled unspeakable horrors in the hope they would find asylum here in America. Instead of being met with compassion, they were tear gassed.
This is wrong. It’s immoral. We should be better than this. https://t.co/g6DrxhIlUM
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) November 26, 2018
