In the last two months, the world has watched with horror as United States Customs and Border Protection has repeatedly fired tear gas at families approaching the northern Mexican border.
Images of mothers running with their children — some of whom do not even have shoes on their feet — away from the militarized border lingered in our collective memory as agents fired tear gas at teenagers and toddlers earlier this month.
This egregious federal response to people fleeing violence, persecution and poverty with hopes of finding care from their northern neighbor was antithetical to public health. One of the 12 principles of ethical practice of public health reads, “Public health should advocate and work for the empowerment of disenfranchised community members, aiming to ensure that the basic resources and conditions necessary for health are accessible to all.”
The impact of these atrocities on health is staggering.
The immediate effects of tear gas are known and irrefutably harmful. A recent review of case studies and epidemiological studies confirmed that tear gas agents can cause lung, skin, eye, cardiovascular and gastrointestinal injuries and issues, including choking and vomiting of blood. In fact, use of tear gas agents was banned under the 1993 Geneva International Chemical Weapons Convention in warfare between military forces.
While the immediate health impacts are known, the long-term effects are less understood. One survey found that people exposed to tear gas experienced persistent chest pain, vomited blood, and difficulty breathing for weeks after exposure. However, this has yet to be systematically examined.
One must also consider how witnessing these injustices affects people. Certainly, the Central American asylum seekers’ direct experience of the violence is trauma, as defined by the United States Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. What’s more, witnessing violence is also known to be harmful, especially for those with a history of traumatic experiences.
It is easy to see how these atrocities could be triggering. Tear gas has been wielded against communities of color and social justice movements for decades; notably against those who dared to declare that Black Lives Matter in Ferguson, Mo., after Officer Darren Wilson mercilessly shot Michael Brown. This abuse against migrant families is yet another example of racist, xenophobic state violence against people who are simply trying to live.
As if this policy decision weren’t bad enough, President Trump is now holding the federal government hostage to pay for his border wall. This is being pursued despite substantial evidence that it is unnecessary, including the Pentagon’s own risk assessment that the recent migrant caravan poses no threat to the United States.
Why, then, insist on such a costly intervention? As Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us: “Budgets are moral documents.” President Trump’s moral compass points belligerent.
Sadly, this continues a long legacy of the United States’ bloated budgeting in the areas of international militarism and the criminal justice system. These are my and your tax dollars being used to punish and harm people seeking a healthier, safer life.
I would rather see my tax dollars being used to fund public health solutions for real, pressing needs. I would like to ensure that all residents in places like the Central Valley of California have access to clean and affordable drinking water. I would like to ensure that all schools, especially those serving our young black scholars, have a comprehensive staff of counselors instead of cops. I would like to increase access to treatment services, prevention and overdose medications for diseases of despair in Appalachia and beyond. I would like to see all children have access to affordable, high-quality preschool programs, especially in places struggling with poverty.
These are the types of interventions we need.
Ultimately, we must hold our elected officials accountable for passing budgets and policies that reflect our shared commitments to care, fairness and respect. Our health depends on it.
Amber Akemi Piatt is the Health Instead of Punishment Program Director at Human Impact Partners. She is a public health researcher and social justice advocate based in Oakland.