Border Patrol Agents Fire Tear Gas Into Mexico As Migrants Attempt To Cross Into U.S.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents fired tear gas and pepper spray into Mexico on Tuesday after 150 migrants attempted to cross a fence along the southwestern border, the agency said in a statement.

CBP said it was investigating the incident after the group attempted to travel into the U.S. near the border crossing in Tijuana shortly after midnight. The agency said officers fired smoke and other chemical agents into the crowd after some people began throwing rocks over the fence at border agents.

“To address the rock throwers assaulting agents and risking the safety of migrants attempting to cross who were already on the U.S. side, both smoke and minimal countermeasures were deployed,” CBP said in a statement. “Agents deployed smoke, pepper spray and CS gas [tear gas] to a position upwind of the rock throwers and south of the border fence.”

The agency said several teenagers were hoisted over the fence at the border and that officers saw some toddler-size children being lifted over the barbed wire barrier. Twenty-five people were arrested after crossing into the U.S., including two teenagers.