US fires tear gas as migrants storm border

MEXICO CITY — US border agents launched tear gas into Mexico early on Tuesday to deter a group of migrants from crossing the US-Mexico border at Tijuana, according to a Reuters witness and the US government.

Clouds of the noxious gas could be seen wafting up from around the fence at the border, and one migrant picked up a canister and threw it back across the border into US territory.

Tijuana has become a flashpoint in the debate over US immigration policy, which has been intensified by the recent deaths of two migrant children in US custody and a partial US government shutdown over President Donald Trump’s $5 billion demand to lawmakers for a wall along the border with Mexico.

A previous incident in November when US agents fired gas into Mexico to disperse migrants triggered a call from Mexico for an investigation. A spokesman for Mexico’s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Late on Monday, more than 150 Central American migrants approached an area of the border in Tijuana in the Playas neighborhood near the beach. Migrants said they thought security measures might be relaxed due to the New Year’s holiday.

After midnight, US security personnel fired tear gas into Mexico as some migrants prepared to climb a border fence, according to the Reuters witness. During a second attempt, migrants began to pass youths and children over the razor wire along the fencing to the US side.

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) said in a statement that the gas was aimed upwind of people throwing rocks on the Mexican side who obstructed agents from helping the children being passed over razor wire.

The CBP statement said agents had not directly targeted the migrants attempting to cross the fence with gas and pepper spray.

A Reuters witness did not see any migrants throwing rocks at US agents, and documented in one photo where a migrant had been hit by what appeared to be a gas canister.

CBP said most of the migrants attempting to cross returned back to Mexico while 25 people, including two teenagers, were detained.

Thousands of Central American migrants have been camping at shelters in Tijuana since arriving in November after traveling in caravans across Mexico to reach the US border, where many have hoped to request asylum.

Meanwhile, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders were expected to attend a briefing on border security at the White House as the government remains partially shut down and Trump asks in a tweet, “Let’s make a deal?”

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi, who is expected to become speaker on Thursday, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer planned to attend. Pelosi said on Tuesday that Democrats would take action to “end the Trump Shutdown” by passing legislation on Thursday to reopen government.

Responding to the Democratic plan, however, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders late on Tuesday night called it a “non-starter” and said it won’t reopen the government “because it fails to secure the border and puts the needs of other countries above the needs of our own citizens”.

Jair Bolsonaro took office with his promise to tackle domestic political and economic problems as Brazil’s new president on Tuesday, while expert said he might encounter some difficulties to realize his ideas.

The army captain-turned-politician was sworn in at a ceremony in Brasilia amid the highest security ever for a presidential inauguration in the largest and most populous nation in Latin America.

Bolsonaro, a member of the conservative Social Liberal Party, and his vice president, retired general Hamilton Mourao, pledged “to maintain, defend and respect the constitution, abide by the laws, promote the general well-being of the people and sustain the unity, integrity and independence of Brazil”, according to a Xinhua report.

“I invite all of Congress to join me in the mission to restore and rebuild our homeland, liberating it from corruption, crime, economic irresponsibility and ideological traps,” he said after being sworn in.

Bolsonaro promised to “carry out structural reforms that will be essential for the financial health and sustainability of public accounts” and “to create a virtuous cycle and open our markets to international trade”.

The president also pledged to “protect and reinvigorate Brazilian democracy” and seek a society “without discrimination or division”.

Bolsonaro was swept to power in October by voter outrage with traditional political parties, making him Brazil’s first right-wing president since the 1980s.

Zhou Zhiwei, a researcher from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said Bolsonaro’s plans are in line with the Brazilians’ desire to change.

“Although the country achieved some results in past decades, there are still quite a few problems that the general public want resolved,” he said. “Bolsonaro’s claims — economic reform, pension reform and public security — have responded to people’s appeal.”

However, Zhou said there are still challenges in implementing these policies, judging from the ruling environment Bolsonaro is in, where his party does not have a majority in Congress.

Bolsonaro’s party will have 52 seats in Brazil’s 513-member lower house, the second largest bloc behind the Workers’ Party.

Zhou said the power of the party is still relatively small although it grew rapidly in the country, thus he would have pressure from the traditional parties, especially when he wants Congress to pass his policies.

Meanwhile, Bolsonaro plans to realign Brazil internationally, moving away from developing-nation allies and closer to the policies of Western leaders, particularly United States President Donald Trump, who sent Secretary of State Mike Pompeo the inauguration, according to Reuters.

But Zhou said the future of Bolsonaro’s foreign policies is still unclear and needs to be observed.

“The frequency of interaction between the US and Brazil has increased recently, but it’s unknown whether there will be more solid communications.”

Zhou said Bolsonaro calls for open markets and foreign investments which are not compatible with the current US policy of trade protectionism.

“Thus, it’s possible for Bolsonaro to readjust his foreign policies to the previous ones of cooperating with other Latin American countries and emerging powers, including China,” he said, adding that it perhaps depends on the US attitude toward Brazil if Bolsonaro wishes to change the previous foreign policies.

Zhou said the new president may not achieve his expectations in terms of actual results.