Texas National Guard fires pepper balls at migrants crossing border, group says

McALLEN, Texas ( Border Report ) — The nonprofit group Human Rights Watch says Texas National Guard troops this summer have “repeatedly fired pepper spray projectiles” at migrants, including children, who were trying to cross from Mexico into Eagle Pass, Texas.

The group on Wednesday said “in several incidents, including one newly documented by Human Rights Watch, Texas National Guard members fired pepper spray projectiles — often shaped like a ball, containing pepper irritants, and fired from a launching gun — on arriving migrants not engaged in threatening acts, including women and children,” according to Human Rights Watch .

“In separate incidents this summer, witnesses saw Texas National Guard members firing pepper spray projectiles at migrants who posed no risk to National Guard members,” Bob Libal, Texas consultant at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement.

Eagle Pass is a South Texas town of 28,000 with a huge presence of National Guard troops assigned to the border. It is where the Texas Military Department is building its new Forward Operating Base that will be able to house 2,300 troops once completed this fall.

The group says they interviewed three witnesses who on Sept. 7 saw a Texas National Guard member in a boat fire several times at a migrant who tried to cross the river near Shelby Park in Eagle Pass. Human Rights Watch reports that the migrant was struck, fell down and did not get up nor received medical aid from nearby soldiers. They say the migrant was struck near razor wire.

Texas National Guard troops have unspooled miles of razor and concertina wire along the banks of the Rio Grande as part of the state’s $11 billion state-funded Operation Lone Star border security initiative. They also plan to relocate Texas Military administrators from McAllen to Eagle Pass one the new base is complete.

Border Report has reached out to the Texas Military Department and asked if troops have deployed pepper spray at undocumented migrants trying to cross the Rio Grande, what military rules allow and what parameters they must follow. This story will be updated if information is received.

On June 11, Texas Military Department adjunct general, Thomas Suelzer told the Texas Senate Border Security Committee t hat Texas military troops “force may be used for self-defense or the defense of others but must be the minimum level prescribed by the situation and proportional to the situation.” He further said Texas Military Department soldiers are trained not to fire directly at people. “We specifically train them, do not shoot directly at the individual.”

According to Human Rights Watch, on Aug. 5 a group of migrants, including children, were fired upon by projectiles that “caused their eyes to burn.”

Libal says Texas lawmakers need to conduct more oversight of the Texas Military Department.

The Texas Legislative Budget Board met Wednesday in Austin to consider the Texas Military Department’s request for an increase in its 2025-2026 biennium budget. The agency wants $2.546 billion in funds in the upcoming biennium, which is a slight increase from the $2.542 billion funded during the current biennium that ends this year.

If approved, most of the money would fund the Texas National Guard forces deployed on the border.

Sandra Sanchez can be reached at SSanchez@BorderReport.com.

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