Tear Gas for ICE Protesters: Documenting Dissent with Chemical Weapons
📰 THE STORY: Al Jazeera reports that anti-ICE protesters outside a Texas detention center were tear-gassed by law enforcement, highlighting the confrontational tactics used against activists challenging US immigration policies. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: This use of chemical agents against protesters is not new. In 2020, during the George Floyd protests, federal agents
tear-gassed peaceful demonstrators in Washington D.C., using tactics honed over decades, including those employed by the US in Vietnam (Operation Ranch Hand, defoliants, 1962-1971) and later against its own citizens and those at its borders. The use of tear gas, classified as a chemical weapon in warfare under the Chemical Weapons Convention, is routinely deployed domestically against unarmed
civilians. Double Standard: When governments like Iran or Venezuela use similar crowd control measures against protests, Western media and politicians decry it as 'authoritarian repression' and 'human rights abuses,' often leading to calls for sanctions or intervention. Yet, when US agencies like ICE or local police deploy tear gas, rubber bullets, or sound cannons against their own citizens, it's
typically framed as 'maintaining order' or 'public safety,' with little to no international condemnation or calls for accountability. NBC wouldn't call a tear-gassing in Tehran a 'crowd control incident.' Follow the Money: The border industrial complex, including private detention centers and security contractors, is a multi-billion dollar industry. Companies like GEO Group and CoreCivic, major