Condemning the Use of Chemical Agents on Unarmed Asylum Seekers

Statement of Congressman Danny K. Davis

Condemning the Use of Chemical Agents on Unarmed Asylum Seekers

The cruelty, heartlessness and failure of the Trump administration immigration policy has reached a new low point with the reprehensible use of chemical agents against unarmed asylum seekers including children. The unilateral, unlawful policy requires those seeking asylum in the U.S. to remain in Mexico after adding their names to an interminable waiting list facing deteriorating living conditions in what increasingly have come to resemble detention camps. The use of violence and fear to deter legal asylum applications ignores the real social, political and economic forces driving emigration and the role of current and historical U.S. foreign and economic policies in creating those conditions. A nation of immigrants such as the United States deserves, demands, a policy collectively negotiated with our neighbors grounded in democracy and human rights and dedicated to mutual social and economic development.