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The government of Mexico has demanded an investigation for using nonlethal weapons, including tear gas at U.S-Mexico border. The foreign ministry of Mexico needs answers about the tear gas cylinders that were fired on Sunday toward migrants tried to enter the United States. The tear gas was used at the border city of Tijuana. The Mexican government presented a diplomatic note to the U.S government calling for a full investigation.

There has been harsh criticism over the methods of the border agents for driving away a crowd of migrants that included barefoot crying children, along with people throwing rocks. The U.S Department of Homeland Security said that the border officers were struck by projectiles thrown by the migrants. A 35-years old migrant mother of three girls, Maria Meza, from Honduras said that the first thing I did was grab my children. She said that she was scared and thought she is going to die with them because of the gas.

Trump defended the use of tear gas during the showdown at the port of entry at San Diego, even though children were in the crowd of migrants. He said that it was a very minor form of the tear gas itself and was very safe. But medical experts expressed concern regarding the long-term physical and psychological effects of the chemical spray. It is noteworthy that tear gas is a chemical weapon and has been banned on battlefields in almost every country, yet it is used on civilian populations throughout the world.

Medical experts also indicated that it affects children more because of their weaker respiratory systems and it can cause long-lasting trauma. A doctor for the charity Physicians for Human Rights, Rohini Haar said that children don’t know to close their eyes and mouths when tear gas is fired. The chief medical director at Terra Firma (a program that treats immigrant children) Alan Shapiro said that throwing tear gas at children is a form of child endangerment that can lead to serious medical effects and even death.