Flashback: Obama-Era Border Patrol Engaged Migrant Group with Chemical Deterrent
As I’m sure you’ve heard by now, there was a contentious clash Sunday between Border Patrol officers and illegal migrants who stormed the San Ysidro Port of Entry.
Of course, if you’ve heard about this development from the liberal media or far leftists, it’s being painted as some sort of blemish on President Donald Trump. For many on the left, it’s proof positive that Trump is some sort of racist dictator hellbent on making life miserable for all migrants.
Here’s ABC News posting of two videos trying to drum up sympathy for the migrants by showing them being hit by and then fleeing from tear gas.
Video shows U.S. Border Patrol agents firing gas cannisters to disperse crowds near the San Ysidro port of entry.
The port of entry between San Diego and Tijuana reopened Sunday night after being shut down for much of the day. https://t.co/oYky3JQA5L pic.twitter.com/p9AQWi2O9I
— ABC News (@ABC) November 26, 2018
Migrants seen running from tear gas at the San Ysidro border after officials say some tried to breach a fence along the border. https://t.co/Y6diZ9ez8F pic.twitter.com/swiQu28PlE
— ABC News (@ABC) November 26, 2018
Here is Antonio Arrelanos, the communications director of Jolt Texas, an activist group “building a movement of Latinos across Texas,” demanding compassion for the mob that tried to physically overcome Border Patrol officers.
I am calling on California state representatives to travel to the San Ysidro port of entry and ensure the safety and humane treatment of asylum seekers.
We can not just watch. We must act!
— Antonio (@AntonioArellano) November 26, 2018
And here are a couple of Twitter users who have wholeheartedly embraced that leftist narrative.
Every Border Patrol agent who fired or ordered tear gas to be fired upon children today must be prosecuted #SanYsidro #BorderShutdown
— Jesse Barstow (@JesseBarstow) November 26, 2018
As a citizen of the United States,
I hereby condemn the actions taken at the U.S. border in San Ysidro, the firing of tear gas by Border Patrol at migrant women & children.I call for the President of the United States to be held responsible for crimes against humanity.
— Michael Head (@pencilmightier) November 26, 2018
As is readily apparent, the outrage has been palpable.
What I’d like ask each and every one of these people is, where was this outrage when the Border Patrol under former President Barack Obama used chemical deterrents at the same exact port back in 2013?
As the San Diego Union-Tribune reported at the time, Obama’s border patrol officers “used pepper spray and other means” to fight back aggressive migrants nearly five years ago to the date of the San Ysidro controversy.
Here’s how the Union-Tribune described the Nov. 24, 2013, confrontation:
“The incident occurred about a quarter-mile west of the San Ysidro border crossing in the Tijuana River channel. No one was seriously injured, no shots were fired and no arrests were made, said Mary Beth Caston, a Border Patrol spokeswoman.
“The group first approached a lone agent stationed about 1/8 of a mile north of the border. They ignored his commands to stop, so he fired pepper balls to try to stop them and protect himself, Caston said.
“As the crowd kept advancing and throwing rocks and bottles, she said, more agents came to the scene and used other ‘intermediate use-of-force devices’ to push back the group. The agents also contacted Mexican law enforcement.”
So clearly, the migrants in 2013 reportedly threw rocks and other projectiles at the officers, before the officers responded with peppery spray, tear gas pellets and “intermediate use-of-force devices.” Gee, I wonder why that sounds so awfully familiar?
But back in 2013 the media was awfully quiet in regards to the Obama administration, save for some reporting on the event in and of itself.
There was no public outcry over how inhumanely Obama was treating the women and children trying to cross the border. There were no outcries over Obama making a “mockery of our values” or “crimes against humanity.” There were no videos trying to drum up sympathy for the 2013 migrants.
Look, it’s hardly a secret that the media loves to gush over all things Obama, but to even the most neutral of observers, this glaring double standard should be appalling, especially since it’s credibly reported that the migrants in the most recent clash endangered the most vulnerable to make their point.
Chief Border Patrol Agent: Migrant Organizers Were Forcing Women and Children to the Front, Then Started Rocking Border Agents (VIDEO) https://t.co/A6v9NJpibP via @gatewaypundit
— Tom Fitton (@TomFitton) November 26, 2018
There is virtually no discernible difference between the 2013 and 2018 San Ysidro clashes, save for the presidential administration in place at the time.
This may not necessarily be the “fake news” that Trump is always railing against, but it’s still a stain on journalistic integrity and neutrality.
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