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The Texas National Guard has repeatedly fired pepper spray at migrants arriving in the state, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said, urging the Texas state legislature to reject any increase in funding for the Texas Military Department until the practice is ended.
The Human Rights Watch reported that in several incidents, members of the Texas National Guard fired pepper balls from a special pistol at migrants who posed no threat, including women and children.
The deployment of the Texas National Guard is part of Operation Lone Star, Texas' controversial border control program that has cost more than $11 billion to date.
“In several separate incidents this summer, witnesses saw Guard members fire pepper spray at migrants who posed no risk to anyone, including the Guardsmen themselves,” said Bob Libal, a Texas consultant at Human Rights Watch. “The Texas legislature should act to strengthen oversight of the state’s Military Department and suspend any increases in its funding until these abuses cease.”
Texas Military Department Adjutant General Thomas Suelzer testified before the Senate Border Security Committee on June 11, 2024, that "use of force is permitted in defense of self or others, but must be the minimum necessary and proportional to the situation," while stating that soldiers are trained not to shoot directly at people.
However, HRW said, on September 7, three witnesses interviewed by the organization said they saw a member of the Guard shoot four or five times at a migrant who had crossed to the U.S. side of the Rio Grande near Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas.
Witnesses said the person was standing near the fence on U.S. territory and was not doing anything that could be interpreted as threatening.
According to witnesses, the bullets hit the migrant directly, who fell to the ground and did not get up, without receiving assistance from nearby soldiers. The witnesses, who were watching from a park in Piedras Negras (Mexico), asked people in the United States to call 911, since it is not possible to contact the American emergency services directly from Mexico.
Eagle Pass resident Josie Rodriguez was one of those who witnessed the incident while in Piedras Negras and told HRW: “I saw a National Guardsman on the boat point his gun at the man and then shoot him with pepper spray.”
"He shot him several times. I saw smoke coming out and the man fell down and never got up again. It was clear that they were aiming directly at him, not around or at his feet. It was a very disturbing scene."
In another incident on August 5, a group of migrants, including children, reported being shot with projectiles that caused burns to their eyes. According to a local media outlet, the Border Patrol denied involvement in the incident and claimed that the National Guard was in charge of the area where the incident occurred.
Under international human rights law, law enforcement may only use force – including less-lethal weapons such as pepper spray – when strictly necessary and proportionate to a legitimate objective. The UN recommends that chemical irritants only be used in cases of “imminent risk of injury.”
Human Rights Watch said it contacted the Texas Military Department on September 19 to request information about the use of pepper spray projectiles, including the number of times they have been used, the number of people injured, and the policies governing their use; however, the Military Department responded on September 24 with information on how to submit a public records request.
In early September, the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) documented allegations of abuses by security forces and the National Guard in the context of Operation Lone Star, including the use of kinetic impact projectiles (commonly referred to as rubber bullets) and pepper spray, as well as physical assaults and pushing people against barbed wire fences.
Human Rights Watch said it has previously documented the negative impacts of Operation Lone Star, revealing that while it has failed to achieve its stated goal of "stopping drug and human trafficking by Mexican cartels," it has caused injuries, deaths, racial discrimination, abusive detention conditions, and has had a chilling effect on freedoms of association and expression.
"These incidents show a disturbing disregard for the welfare and rights of migrants," Libal concluded. "The Texas legislature has a responsibility to oversee its military and should launch an investigation into the use of pepper spray projectiles against unarmed people."
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