MEXICO CITY.- At least a hundred Central American migrants tried to cross illegally into the United States through the Playas de Tijuana area, on the last night of 2018 without having achieved it, sources with Human Rights organizations reported.
Twenty-five people, including two teenagers, were detained as part of this massive attempt at irregular crossing, officials from the US Customs and Border Protection Office (CBP) said.
The attempt of the migrants provoked an intense mobilization of guards of the US border patrol that launched at least two grenades with tear gas to repel the crossing attempt, said Human Rights sources.
According to a report, during the night of the last day of 2018, migrants gathered on the side of the dividing wall in Playas de Tijuana and in the canyon of los laureles, on the border between Mexico and the United States.
In these two places, several units of the border patrol were already waiting for the migrants.
It was in Playas de Tijuana that US agents launched at least two tear gas
The CBP argued that these measures were not directly deployed against immigrants who tried to cross into the United States, but the people who threw stones from the Mexican side, and that due to the use of gas fled the place.
“No agent observed any of the immigrants in the line, including the children, experiencing some effect derived from the chemicals, which were directed towards those who threw stones at a distance,” said the authorities.
CBP noted that its Office of Professional Responsibility will investigate what happened after agents had to use force against immigrants
